Would you believe consumer spending is up?

Yes, the title is correct. According to reports out this past week, consumer spending was up over last year for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Market Watch reported that "strong discounts brought U.S. consumers to the stores on 'Black Friday' -- the traditional first day of the holiday shopping season -- with estimated sales rising 3% from last year."

And consumers kept the momentum going on Cyber Monday... according to comScore, "Online shoppers spent $846 million on Dec. 1, a 15% increase over the Monday after Thanksgiving last year." It was the second largest online spending day on record.

Oh yes, and while we were finding great deals online, gas prices continued to fall.