The new data reveal a rebound in the fortunes of the rich.

ECONOMIST: No more than a temporary blip from the Great Recession

It remains to be seen if the data heralds a rebound in consumer spending, but Wall Street drew confidence from the figure and reversed its early declines shortly into the session.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Other data shows a modest rebound in factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.

FORBES: Manufacturing Jobs Changing But No Severe Job Skills Gap In USA

Barclays Capital said in a note from Moscow that the data points to a rebound in GDP, with third quarter growth hitting 5.3% on the year.

FORBES: Russia Rebounding On Consumer Spending, Job Growth

The US housing market rebound gained steam in November, new data suggests.

BBC: US housing recovery gains steam

The weak China manufacturing data and the yen's rebound hit exporters in Tokyo.

WSJ: Nikkei Drops 7.3%

Stocks stumble out of the gate on a surprise spike in initial jobless claims, but rebound from lows on ambiguously positive home-sales data.

FORBES

But this anticipated rebound is pretty hard to square with the latest economic data.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood

Fellow builders that beat expectations this time around were also selling off Wednesday, on the heels of two days of slower housing data that signaled a slowdown in the pace of the rebound.

FORBES: Fed Pats Itself On The Back For Housing Boost, Could Vary Asset Purchases

Does this data point to an interest rate spike later this year that may spoil the global rebound in equities?

FORBES: What May Keep US Interest Rates From Spiking