Has this ever happened to you? Your curmudgeonly uncle Rip wanders up into the mountains around the New Year, goes missing, gives everyone a good scare, and then emerges, as if from a night’s sleep, a year later. After all the rejoicing, you have to explain to him everything that […] Read more »
Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Declines
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined slightly in November, posted another decrease in December. The Index now stands at 65.1 (1985=100), down from 71.5 in November. [cont.] Conference Board Read more »
Americans view economy as poor, split on future
With the so-called fiscal cliff looming and the U.S. economy limping back to life, an overwhelming majority of Americans rate today’s economic conditions as poor and are split on where the economy will be four years from now, according to a new survey. The new CNN/ORC International poll shows only […] Read more »
Economy Still Top Problem in U.S. but Less So Than in Past
Amid a seemingly bleak economic landscape that includes the possibility of no resolution to the fiscal cliff negotiations and news that the 17-country eurozone has returned to recession, Americans still rank the economy in general as the most important problem facing the country, with 23% citing it as the top […] Read more »
Consumer Comfort Stagnates as Lawmakers Debate Budget
Consumer confidence in the U.S. stagnated last week, showing a lack of improvement since October as lawmakers continue to search for common ground on taxes and government spending in 2013. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index slipped to minus 34.5 in the period ended Dec. 9, the lowest level in six […] Read more »
Voters give both 2012, Obama mixed reviews
American voters are sharply divided over how things went this year, and they continue to give President Obama mixed reviews. Meanwhile, voters are almost twice as likely to say Obama will be one of the country’s “worst” presidents as to say he will be one of the “greatest,” according to […] Read more »