Economic activity accelerated in the third quarter after a sluggish second quarter, according to Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group. Their November outlook expresses encouragement based on recent increases in consumer spending and confidence but suggest looming economic uncertainty continues to create obstacles for the pace of the recovery. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, said recent economic data has been modestly favorable and increases in consumer spending are encouraging due to their positive effect on housing. In the third quarter,the housing market saw improvement in both new and existing home sales and prices spiked 5.0 percent from last year, the largest gain since 2006. Also, the housing market is expected to contribute to GDP growth next year, reversing the trend of the past six years. More here.