All this week, we’ve been sounding the alarm of the so-called economic “green shoots.” These have now been exposed as being pure propaganda designed to lure investors back into stocks and to allow banks to recapitalize through share issuances at artificially elevated prices.

The economy continued to show signs of recovery from the worst recession in 60 years as the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits dropped for the first time since January, the Labor Department reported yesterday (Thursday).

 In the currency market, the dollar rallied against the euro. Late Thursday, the euro was trading at $1.5421 vs. $1.5548 on Wednesday. The buck was supported by better-than-expected retail sales, which boosted expectations for a Fed rate hike.

“Sales of new homes plunge to lowest level in 16½ years,” reports the Commerce Department, throwing another log of bad news onto the burning housing market. And by the time you read this, we’re sure another story of the weak housing market will hit the newswire. It’s what makes the current strength in shares of Home Depot so interesting.