Stocks are trimming their early morning gains after two data sets came out pointing to a struggling recovery. First up was the Case Shiller Home Price Index which fell to a 9 year low. So much for a housing recovery.

Next up was consumer confidence numbers. May come as a shock to some, but rising gas prices do have a way of crimping consumers. The index fell to 70.6. Both numbers show that while we may be recovering, the economic doldrums are still there for sizable slice of the populace are mired in poor economic conditions.

What is probably needed at this point is a fresh round of stimulus spending. ut the current political climate will prevent that. This is where the Fed will step in with some sort of new monetary easing policy, be it QE3 or some new name. Regardless, the recovery is halting at best based of the constant flow of data coming in. [Read more...]