Confidence among U.S. consumers climbed for a sixth straight week to the highest level since April as a rally in stock prices and improving job market boosted Americans’ view of their finances. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index advanced to minus 31.6 in the week ended March 10 from minus 32.4 […] Read more »
Fewer Mention Economic Issues as Top Problem
Fifty-seven percent of Americans mention an economic issue when asked to name the most important problem facing the United States today, the lowest since June 2010, when the percentage was also 57%. The last time it fell below this level was with a 55% reading in December 2009. [cont.] Jeffrey […] Read more »
Economic Confidence Improves After Post-Sequester Slip
Americans’ confidence in the economy improved last week after it was shaken during the debate in Washington about the budget sequestration. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index improved to -17 from -22 the prior week, when the budget sequestration took effect. Still, last week’s score is nine percentage points lower than the […] Read more »
Consumer Comfort Improves to Highest Level This Year
Confidence among U.S. consumers rose for a fifth week, reaching the highest level this year as improving stock and home prices gave households a lift. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index improved to minus 32.4 in the week ended March 3 from minus 32.8 in the prior period. The share of […] Read more »
Economic Confidence Falls as Sequester Becomes Reality
Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index fell to -22 last week from -13 the week prior, with most of the decline occurring after Congress and the president ultimately failed to avert the $85 billion in budget cuts mandated as part of the sequestration legislation. The weekly average of -22 is the lowest […] Read more »
Consumer sentiment boosted by jobs optimism in Feb
… The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 77.6 from 73.8 in January, topping expectations for attitudes to hold steady with February’s preliminary reading of 76.3. [cont.] Reuters Read more »