Here’s a ray of friggin’ sunshine that came a-waltzing into the Rick’s Picks chat room yesterday: “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Everybody loaded up with E-Mini S&P contracts for tomorrow’s POSITIVE jobs report? More good economic news today, retail sales up much better than expected for December. E-Mini probably up 15-20 points tomorrow. Yee- haw!” What makes this comment particularly interesting is that the subscriber who made it lives in Michigan, the very heart of the nation’s Rust Belt. Were we perhaps being churlish to point out that the “much better” retails sales were actually only modestly better than the dismal numbers that had been expected? We did, but Mr. Sunshine was undeterred. “Come on, Rick, he responded. “Things aren’t that bad out there. Businesses around here are actually doing quite well.” Where is “around here,” we wanted to know? And which businesses? “Basically, all businesses,’ he replied. “A guy I went to school with who runs a real estate company said business was up substantially from last year. Our local paper mill is running three shifts steady.” If the supposed global recovery’s credibility hangs on the fact that one Upper Michigan paper mill seems to be humming, and that one Realtor in the same neighborhood has an upbeat anecdote to tell, we’re just not buying it -- especially with no corroborating evidence whatsoever in our own town -- Boulder, Colorado. One might think that because Boulder turns up on virtually everybody’s Top Ten Places to Live list, that the local economy would be relatively resistant to the Great Recession. In fact, business-tax revenues have fallen so steeply that the town has had to make unprecedented cutbacks in services. Moreover, few expect things to improve in 2010, and even deeper cuts are being anticipated for next year. As for the local housing market,
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