Bloomberg/Businessweek reported that the National Association Realtors' numbers showed a 10% for pending home sales. This is quite a news maker. Bloomberg News survey had predicted only a 1% rise. Records date back to 2001.

Dean Maki economist at Barclays Capital Inc. is quoted by Bloomberg/Businessweek saying: "The fundamentals that are driving home sales are low mortgage rates combined with job and income growth and that's why housing should be expected to grow in coming months."

It seems that retailers are ready to give up on pushing the practical gifts this holiday season in hopes that weary retailers are ready to unload some cash on higher-priced items. Retailers are hoping that socks and pajamas aren't on the list but large-screen LCD TVs and other fancier gifts find their way under the tree. The hope is that shoppers will buy into mainstream optimism.

A year ago, discretionary spending (items like clothing and home furnishings) dropped to 61% of total dollars spent, hopes are that this spending will increase to 63% this year (according to estimates from Customer Growth Partners). Such an increase would equal the percentage from 2008. While two percentage points may seem small, it represents an increase of roughly $60 billion.

Soft drink giant The Coca-Cola Company (KO) announced today that it had recalled 22,000 sets of themed glasses that were painted to look like cans of the company's soft drinks.

The 16-ounce glasses have been sold since March both online and in retail stores, but have been detected to contain low levels of cadmium on the outside of the glass which has been painted to look like a can of Coke.

There are definitely a lot of happy Beatles fans out there today, as Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced that it would finally be selling Beatles material through its iTunes store.

Fans have been waiting, not-so-patiently, for this to happen for years now, and today it has finally arrived. Apple wrote on its website that "In 1964, the band that changed everything came to America. Now they're on iTunes."

I was reading a rather interesting article in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) about the potential for a holiday toy war between Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT). The price war centers on toys because "parents will buy stuff for their kids even when the economy is awful."

The article adds that shoppers have attempted to buy the "biggest toy bargains" while "ignor[ing] stores' other offerings." However, the article is quick to point out improving economic conditions suggest that retailers have a reason to believe the shoppers will look around the store a bit more and be quicker to part with some cash. Is this a safe assumption? Yes, I think that it is. However, I have a couple of reservations.

Reuters quoted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as saying: "We're not in the business of trying to create inflation. Our purpose is to provide additional stimulus to help the economy recover and to avoid potentially additional disinflation, which I think we'll all agree could also be worrisome."

Bernanke claims that inflation is below the Fed's 2% target. That's hogwash! Sure if you use the "core" CPI, which leaves out food and energy, that may be the case. Not to worry.

Francisco Blanch, global head of commodity research at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, stated in the Financial Times that his forecast is for oil prices to move above $90 per barrel, then to $100 per barrel.

With more stimulus from the Fed, more dollars will be sloshing around the world. This gives a boost to oil demand and then higher prices. QE2 is scheduled to continue into 2011, which will support oil prices into next year.

Following Thursday's market close, Microsoft (MSFT) reported its fiscal first quarter numbers, and, as Steven Mallas noted, it easily outpaced earnings estimates for the quarter.

Analysts had been expecting to see the company report earnings of 55 cents per share, but actual earnings came in well above at 62 cents per share.

It was a really good quarter for Microsoft, but revenues did not rise enough to stay above Apple's (AAPL) recent quarterly numbers. Microsoft had revenues of $16.2 billion during the quarter, up from $16 billion during its fourth quarter. Apple reported earlier this month it had revenues of $20.34 billion.

One of my largest holdings and growing is Diageo plc (DEO), which was one of my 2009 stock picks. At the time I recommended it, I figured that the economy was going to drive everyone to either church pews or bar stools and that rational worked out. Today, in a battered market, folks must be hitting the bottle because Diageo is up when the majority of stocks are down. During the day it touched a new high of $73.63. (Update: Final $72.76)

There are very few stocks that I might say are a must own as a core holding. However, unless you think alcoholic beverages are going out of style, Diageo might be one of them. Trading at a 52-week high and surpassing the market last year and so far this year, too, the metrics are starting to look average. But several things do jump off the page on closer inspection. One is the whopping 46% return on equity and the other is the 3.3% dividend yield.

Never in the fickle landscape of American fashion has there been a more polarizing brand than Ed Hardy. Some (Bret Michaels, Jon Gosselin, my old boss) love the pricey tees and hoodies inspired by the art of tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. Some feel it is at best gaudy and at worst a sign of the imminent demise of civilization as we know it.

City officials in Stonnington, Australia are in the latter camp, it seems, as they have banned all Ed Hardy clothing. While this "law" is only enforced by a crudely-worded (and NSFW) sign posted on the door of a defunct Hardy shop, it's a sign that the fashion isn't welcome in the town.

Japanese company Toshiba Corp. (TOSYY) introduced the latest development in three-dimension (3D) television: glasses-free 3D.

The company's latest TV takes one of the biggest customer complaints about 3D TV technology (those bulky glasses) and eliminates said problem. Of course, there is some concern that consumers will not like the newest TV, as they have to sit rather close in order to see the images in 3D. It is recommended that the viewer sit 35.4 inches and 25.6 inches from the respective models.

Starting next month you will be able to buy gold at an ATM machine. Can that be true? Yes, CNNMoney's story on Gold to go's owner Thomas Geissler says he plans to launch two such ATMs in Las Vegas and Florida. Plans are to expand the Gold to go ATMs in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Minnesota.

The machines will offer gold coins and bars weighing up to 8 ounces. Prices are updated every ten minutes based on spot gold prices.