… One of my favorite lines about politics is from Yale political scientist and statistician Edward Tufte in his book Political Control of the Economy: “When you think economics, think elections; when you think elections, think economics.” Americans remain pretty pessimistic about the economy. The National Bureau of Economic Research […] Read more »

Consumer confidence last week held near the second-highest level in more than six years as households remained upbeat about their finances. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index eased to 37.1 for the week ended May 4 from 37.9 the prior week. CONT. Jeanna Smialek, Bloomberg Read more »

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index extended its spring advance this week, propelled by improving views of the buying climate and personal finances – both their best in at least six years – to a new second-best for the index overall since early 2008. CONT. Langer Research Associates Read more »

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had increased in March, declined slightly in April. The Index now stands at 82.3 (1985=100), down from 83.9 in March. The Present Situation Index decreased to 78.3 from 82.5, while the Expectations Index was virtually unchanged at 84.9 versus 84.8 in March. CONT. […] Read more »

Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index averaged -17 for the week ending April 27. This represents a slight drop from consistent index ratings of either -15 or -16 for the past four weeks. CONT. Rebecca Riffkin, Gallup Read more »

Consumer confidence has rebounded to nearly its highest level since 2007, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. … The April level of consumer confidence was just one index-point below the post-recession peak, according to U-M economist Richard Curtin, director of the surveys. CONT. University of Michigan Read more »