A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

But the good kind. Here is Whammy One:

Sales of new homes soared at a record pace in October in what could be a last hurrah for the booming housing market.

The Commerce Department said that sales of new single-family homes shot up by 13 percent last month, the biggest one-month gain in more than 12 years. The increase pushed sales to an all-time high seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units.

The increase confounded analysts who had been predicting that new home sales would decline by 1.8 percent, reflecting continued increases in mortgage rates. It was possible that the unexpected surge reflected a final rush by buyers to get into the market before mortgage rates climb higher.

The rise in new home sales was accompanied by an increase in prices, with the median price increasing by 1.6 percent from September to $231,300 in October.

Sales were up in most regions of the country, led by a 46.9 percent surge in the West and a 43.3 percent jump in the Northeast. Sales also rose by 1.9 percent in the South but were down 9.5 percent in the Midwest.

The nationwide jump in new home sales was the one bright spot for housing last month. Sales of previously owned homes fell by 2.7 percent, the National Association of Realtors reported on Monday, and construction of new homes and apartments also fell during the month.

Analysts believe the nation's booming housing market is beginning to show signs of slowing under the impact of rising mortgage rates, which are going up as the Federal Reserve continues a campaign to boost interest rates to make sure inflation does not get out of control.

David Lereah, the Realtors' chief economist, said he was looking for sales of existing homes to drop next year and for prices, which had been rising at double-digit rates, to moderate to a gain of around 5 percent.

Not bad for a "last hurrah." Here's hoping for a soft landing, though.

Whammy Two:

Consumer confidence soared in November as declining gasoline prices contributed to a stronger-than-expected reading that could bode well for the holiday shopping season.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 98.9 this month from 85.2 in October. Analysts had expected a reading of 90. The better-than-expected results reversed a two-month decline.

"A decline of more than 40 cents in gasoline prices this month and the improving job outlook have combined to help restore consumers' confidence," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.

"While the index remains below its pre-Katrina levels, the shock of the hurricanes and subsequent leap in gas prices has begun wearing off just in time for the holiday season," Franco said.

Still, she warned, the holiday spending will be fueled by the bargains consumers have come to expect.

One component of the report, which examines consumers' views of the current economic situation, rose to 114.0 from 107.8. The expectations index, which measures consumers' outlook over the next six months, surged to 88.8 from 70.1 last month.

Economists closely track consumer confidence because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

The Conference Board index is derived from responses received through Nov. 16 to a survey mailed to 5,000 households in a consumer research panel. The figure released Tuesday include responses from at least 2,500 households.

Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions improved in November. Those claiming business conditions are "good" increased to 25.5 percent from 23.3 percent. Those claiming conditions are "bad" decreased to 17.3 percent from 18.4 percent. Labor market conditions also appear to be improving. Consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" decreased to 23.2 percent from 25.3 percent, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" was virtually unchanged at 20.8 percent.

As mentioned many a time, good news still requires effective advertising on its behalf. Maybe the Bush Administration should take its cue and start touting the fact that we do have a fairly strong economy on our hands.