In order to keep the consumer spending wave in motion, I have noticed several sources of misinformation on housing coming into the picture. But none are going to give you facts like UBS and Merrill Lynch and a few others.

This UBS report states: "we believe the trend in inventory is the single most important variable to monitor to identify a potential inflection point. As such, we have created a proprietary database that analyzes weekly trends in the inventory of homes for sale and asking prices, in the top 47 Metropolitan Statistical Areas; We have been collecting this data (only) since June 6, 2006."

These researchers are watching this key economic driver like a hawk, and they are not going to mislead people with anecdotes and sales pitches that aren't based on hard data. They understand the importance of the issue. It's not a happy story.

For that reason, I shall endeavour to continue presenting this report to you.