The Pending Home Sales Index dipped. But e-commerce sales for the third quarter of 2013 increased by 3.6 percent compared with the second quarter.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that 28 states had unemployment rate decreases in October compared to September, fewer than last year. Meanwhile, this week will see a decrease from last year’s peak in Thanksgiving travel despite lower gas prices, and statisticians are still playing catch-up with housing starts data post-shutdown.

According to the Fed, tapering will kick in in a matter of months, albeit gradually. Inflation is not in the cards as a result of QE3. And total existing-home sales dropped in October by 3.2 percent compared with September.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke defended his actions for the continued bond-buying program during an annual dinner in Washington. And JP Morgan Chase agreed to pay about $13 billion to settle charges by the U.S. Department of Justice that during the runup to the housing bubble back in the mid-2000s, it routinely misrepresented the value of the mortgages it sold.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was unchanged in November from a downwardly revised level of 54 in October. Americans aren’t moving as much as they once did, according to a report released by the Census Bureau. And due to the rippling impact of the federal government shutdown, official numbers on housing starts won’t be released until Nov. 26.

The recession hit home values in more populous U.S. counties harder than smaller counties. And U.S. industrial production edged down 0.1 percent in October after increasing 0.7 percent in September.

The U.S. Energy Information Agency says that the annual average retail price of regular gasoline, which was $3.63 per gallon in 2012, is expected to average $3.50 a gallon in 2013 and $3.39 a gallon in 2014. And the Fed released testimony that Ben Bernanke’s successor, Vice Chair Janet Yellen, supports the government’s bond-buying program.

Improved extraction technology and higher prices are opening up new oil resources, but that doesn’t mean the world is on the verge of an era of oil abundance, the International Energy Agency reported.

The unexpectedly strong employment report for October – 204,000 jobs created – spotlighted various positive employment trends for the economy.

The economy created 204,000 jobs during the month, an improvement from September, and more than the average monthly growth for the last previous 12 months of 190,000. The real U.S. GDP increased at an annualized rate of 2.8 percent in the third quarter, which was above expectations. And builder confidence in the 55+ housing market showed continued improvement in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the same period a year ago.