Consumers are slightly more confident this month than they were in October, the private Conference Board just reported.

Its widely watched consumer confidence index edged up to 49.5 from 48.7 last month.

Bloomberg News sees good news in the report, because the increase is unexpected.

Still, a reading below 50 isn't great and as the Associated Press puts it, "shoppers remain gloomy heading into the traditional start of the holiday shopping season amid a weak job market."

Consumers buy about two-thirds of all the goods and services the economy produces.

This is the third major economic indicator released today. Earlier:

— The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Indexes showed a fifth straight increase in home prices.

— The Bureau of Economic Analysis said gross domestic product grew at a 2.8% annual rate in the third quarter, a downward revision from its earlier estimate of 3.5% growth.