opening higher this morning after a mixed day for investors, so let s head to the new york stock exchange and check in with alison kosik. looks good so far. good morning, carol, looks like the bears are taking a rest today, letting the bulls come out and play but the gains not too huge at this point. investors are stuck in summer doldrums but stocks were at record highs less than two weeks ago. the dow is only 1.5% from its record, but here is what s giving investors a reason to buy today, retail sales numbers rose in july. it s actually the fourth month in a row of gains, so what that means is people are out there shopping, spending their money. that helps to boost the economy, but the thing is, like a lot of the other economic reports lately, not so good, they are kind of good, but not so great. but still you re seeing investors focus on the positive this morning. carol? like that, alison kosik, many thanks. this morning, hannah anderson is waking up in