NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Once again the so-called experts are being proved wrong about this economy... it turns out that retail sales were up last month and this holiday shopping season that many economists said would be a disaster is off to a start that would make spendthrifts blush. Wal-Mart's Friday sales of almost $1.5 billion had to impress the most pessimistic economist. Remember when you consider the future of this economy, many of these same experts have been calling for a double dip recession. Inconveniently to their view, the 3rd quarter GDP growth rate was revised higher... by almost a third, from 3.1 to four per cent.

There's no question the economic recovery faces challenges. There's still low business investment, a contracting manufacturing sector, only modest improvement in corporate earnings and other problems. But I simply don't see a reason for the persistent pessimism that seems to be the prevailing view of these so-called experts. Rather I sense around the country a rising confidence in the economy, and even the stock market... and what many of these experts who seem to be proved wrong almost every week don't seem to accept is that we can be confident, while remaining skeptical. So long as we maintain that balance, I'm confident about the direction of the economy.