It’s a good news/bad news Friday and I spent most of last night traveling – so I’m gonna keep this brief.

The good news is that U.S. GDP came in at 2.9% in the preliminary reading for Q3, which was above the consensus expectations for a rate of 2.5% and the best level seen in 2 years. Note that this reading is considered the “preliminary estimate” and that there will be two additional revisions in the coming months.

It is also positive that the so-called “earnings recession” that has been in place for the past five quarters (which has been largely caused by the crash in oil) appears to be ending here as reports indicate that EPS for S&P companies are higher by 2.6% on average so far this quarter.

The bad news is the GDP report showed that consumer spending pulled back a bit during the quarter and that interest rates have continued their week-long climb this morning. Rates are rising, of course, due to the concern that the better economic news will embolden the Federal Reserve to hike rates beyond the current expectations.

The bottom line is the period of sloppy trading action continues and that some patience remains warranted here.