See what happens when America reads our series on Good Economic News?  The stock market jumps up 236 points. And when you combine that with the “Times are tough, but we’ll get through this” speech from President Obama, there’s a lot to be hopeful about.

So far this week, we’ve talked about several positive economic stories, including the fact the monthly tally of Leading Economic Indicators rose last month;  that Coca-Cola reported an 11% increase in revenues in 2008; that Walmart saw sales rise 6% last quarter and that oil is 76% lower today than it was last summer.

C’mon, folks. We’ll get through this. We’re Americans for God’s sake. (Apologies to our readers from overseas, but we’re on a roll here.)

But wait, it’s not just Coca-Cola and Walmart that are reporting increased revenues, McDonald’s is, too! Just a few days ago, McDonald’s reported that their global comparable sales were up 7.1% in January. More specifically, the U.S. was up 5.4%, Europe was up 7.1% and Asia, the Middle East and Africa were up 10.2%.

And PepsiCo sales increased as well. Revenue grew 10 percent last year to $43.3 billion!

Do you think it’s safe to say that there’s a little bit of an over-reaction to the economic news? Sure, times are tough, but they’re not anywhere near as tough as the news media is reporting.

So spread the news. In fact, here’s what we’re telling our friends and family:

“There’s no doubt that these are difficult times, but PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Walmart and McDonald’s have all seen sales increases recently. Plus, oil is 76% lower than it was last summer. And interest rates are at historic lows at the same time home prices have dropped. We’re optimistic that we’ve reached the bottom and are poising our businesses for growth later this year.”

C’mon and jump on board. We have a list of companies that are refusing to participate in the recession.

Want to include your company? Then send us a comment in the comment box. (Better still, send your logo to The FriendlyPeople@60SecondMarketer.com.)

Here’s our growing list of companies that are poising themselves for growth this year:

• Southside Broadcasting
• RadioX
• Whitestone Marketing Services
• Spiritus Marketing Directory
• Bella Web Design
• FORTE’partners
• VoiceQuilt.com
• Todd Miechiels + Partners
• SleepytimeStore.com
• Piano Expectations
• Response Mine Interactive
• 60 Second Online University
• 60 Second Marketer
• BKV Interactive and Direct Response
• A School Bell Rings

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