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 »
More in U.S. Warm to the New Melting Pot
Most Americans do not view immigrants as a threat either to America’s economy or its culture, but key elements of the Republican coalition continue to express unease at the pace of demographic change, the new College Board/National Journal Next America Poll has found. The poll found little concern about economic […] Read more »
More Americans Mention Healthcare as Top Problem in U.S.
The percentage of Americans mentioning healthcare as the country’s most important problem increased to 19% in November from 12% in October, as technical issues with the federal health insurance website continue and the White House faces criticism over people being dropped from their health plans. Healthcare now ranks second behind […] 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 »
U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly falls in November
U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly dipped in November to a near two-year low as lower-income households worried about their job prospects and financial outlooks and negative views of the government lingered, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment […] Read more »
Obama’s Second-Term Slide Continues
Barack Obama has had a difficult year since his reelection victory. His overall job rating stands at 41%, down 14 points since last December. A majority (53%) now disapproves of the way he is handling his job as president. The latest national poll by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. […] Read more »