Retail and manufacturing again lead the charge, even though the Dow was mostly in negative territory on Wednesday.

Even more encouraging, one Federal Reserve chief mentioned in remarks on Fox Business that there might be a "possibility" of a interest rate increase by the middle of 2013, not 2014 as first thought.

But with the housing market still in relative flux, best to read the numbers very carefully. 

Overall, as the former Punky QB of the Chicago Bears Jim McMahon used to say in the late 1980's on a Taco Bell commercial, "Things are looking up."