‘Tis the season for customary, post-Christmas, stock market gains and today’s figures show a market up-tick on news of increased consumer spending and consumer confidence.

Spending in November increased by 0.5% from 0.3% in the month previous. Analysts see a possibility of interest rate cuts by policy makers in the new year. This is all around, good news to an economy where two thirds of GDP is dependent on consumer spending.

Factory orders for big-ticket items such as appliances rose 1.9% in November after an 8.2% tumble in October.