The Senate appears poised to approve an additional $2 billion for the "Cash for Clunkers" program in which consumers can turn in their old cars and get a government rebated of $4,500 to put toward new, more fuel efficient vehicles.  There is a fair bit of debate on The Hill over how much long term economic and environmental impact the program will have, but it seems to have made a significant difference in car sales over the last month.  At Econbrowser, James Hamilton charts monthly light vehicle sales:

Hamilton looks at the 20% monthly gain, and wonders "whether the auto figures signal the shift we've all been watching for, or sales stolen from September and October and delivered to July."

Hamilton sees more promise in the Manufacturing ISM Report On Business, but says the real test this week will be the unemployment numbers.  Read Hamilton's Current Economic Conditions here.