by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Lately, weekends have become a time to decompress and recover from the litany of bad financial news; not this weekend.  A stock market rally, positive retail sales numbers, an uptick in consumer confidence, and news that some big banks are back in the black, was plenty of reason to put just a little spring in our step. No one is calling it a "bottom" or a "recovery," but it beats the alternative.