The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had decreased sharply in October, declined again in November. The Index now stands at 70.4 (1985=100), down from 72.4 in October. The Present Situation Index edged down to 72.0 from 72.6. The Expectations Index declined to 69.3 from 72.2 last month. CONT. Conference […] Read more »
Why Some Americans Buy Stocks and Others Don’t
Five years after the crash of 2008, Americans are sharply diverging across lines of income and education in their attitudes toward the financial system and experiences with it, the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll has found. Down one path, most adults with college degrees are employing a wide range […] Read more »
Consumers’ Outlook for U.S. Economy Improves After Two-Year Low
American consumers became less pessimistic in November about the economic outlook as the effect of last month’s partial government shutdown dissipated. The gap between positive and negative expectations for the economy shrank to minus 14 from a two-year low of minus 31 in October, according to data from the Bloomberg […] Read more »
Confidence in the Economy Continues to Improve
Americans’ confidence in the economy continued to recover last week after taking a hit during the partial U.S. government shutdown. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index rose to -24, much improved from -39 in mid-October during the shutdown, but it has not yet bounced back to the -15 found in mid-September. CONT. […] Read more »
Consumer Comfort in U.S. Improves for First Time in Seven Weeks
Consumer confidence in the U.S. increased for the first time in seven weeks, undoing some of the damage caused by fiscal infighting among federal lawmakers. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to a five-week high of minus 33.9 in the period ended Nov. 10 from minus 37.9. Uneasiness resulting from […] Read more »
Economic Confidence Slowly Rising
Americans’ confidence in the economy is slowly increasing nearly four weeks after U.S. lawmakers reached a debt ceiling agreement that ended the government shutdown. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index rose two points to -27 last week, and has significantly improved from the low of -39 during the mid-October shutdown. Still, the […] Read more »