The question Americans should be asking ourselves isn’t whether we’re better off than we were four years ago. It’s whether we’re better off than we were 80 years ago. … Mitt Romney himself has drawn attention to the implicit parallel between the crises faced by Hoover and Obama. “This is […] Read more »
Who Gets Credit for the Recovery?
… There is still no guarantee that the economy is on a stable path to recovery, given its structural problems and the false starts of the last few years. But the odds that the recovery has finally begun have never been higher. Which is one more reason the presidential campaign, […] Read more »
Consumer confidence posts record gain in October
Consumers were more optimistic in the most recent survey about prospects for their own personal finances, according to University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. … Consumers also anticipated continued improvement in the national economy, and expected the unemployment rate to […] Read more »
Consumer Comfort in U.S. Climbs to Highest Level Since April
Consumer confidence last week reached a six-month high as U.S. households became less pessimistic about the economy. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 34.6 in the period ended Oct. 21, the eighth gain in the last nine weeks, from minus 34.8 the previous period. Americans’ views of economy […] Read more »
More Americans Feel Better Off Than Worse Off, Financially
For the first time in more than five years, slightly more Americans are feeling financially better off, rather than worse off, compared with a year ago, by 38% to 34%. This represents a significant improvement since May of President Barack Obama’s first year as president, when the majority — 54% […] Read more »
Economic Confidence Down Slightly Last Week
Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index declined slightly to -19 for the week ending Oct. 21, from -17 the week prior. Despite the slip, this is little changed from the trend since the week of Sept. 3, when confidence significantly improved from one of the lowest points of the year. … […] Read more »