With the end of the year in sight, hopes are high that the economy has bottomed out and there's nowhere to go but up.

A much-anticipated meeting by the Federal Reserve Board last Wednesday (Sept. 23) didn't bring any news that we haven't heard about already, as far as the average American is concerned.

With the government set to release the figures for consumer spending and income any time now, hopes are high that the data will further strengthen growing prospects that the longest recession since World War II is finally ending.

Even as the Federal Reserve boldly declared only this week that the recession was coming to an end, its benchmark short-term interest rates remained low at 0% to 0.25%, further saying that rates "will stay low for a longer period of time."