A rise in existing home sales last month shows things are getting better in the U.S. housing market, but the still-dire unemployment situation and the looming possibility of a jobless recovery may halt the rally by the end of the year. That makes the extension of an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers imperative.

Perhaps the mishmash of numbers floating around the housing market have you confused.  For those who follow the market closely, the daily news seems to bring a never-ending stream of contradictory data. 

Markets slip again on weak housing data, economic outlook, Greenspan speaks: what the great contrarian indicator had to say this time, and plenty more…

More bad news for housing… one chart shows the bottom could still be far away…Credit crunch slams entitlements… demise of Social Security, Medicare now years closer…Stocks suffer… Bill Jenkins on the “surprise” data behind today’s sell-off…Jim Nelson shares one of “the world’s most exciting growth industries”…Plus, Byron King’s taking profits… a sector worth selling, right now

“We’ve averted” the risk of a depression, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week. “Now the problem is to get the thing working properly again.”

More than 8.3 million mortgage holders in the United States – one in five homeowners – are underwater. That is, they owe more money on their house than their house worth.

Berkshire’s Armor Cracks; JPMorgan Bags $5 Billion Selling Deriviates; Recordati Proposes Increased Divided; China May Double Stimulus This Week; Homes Sales Continue to Break Down

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell to their lowest level in almost 12 years, as prices also fell and are now near their six-year lows.

In the currency market, the dollar eased slightly against the euro. Late Friday, the euro was trading at $1.5763 vs. $1.5727 on Thursday.

In the currency market, the dollar sank to yet another record low against the euro. Late Tuesday, the euro was trading at $1.5993 vs. $1.5913 on Monday.