The Conference Board, the business research group, reports that its consumer confidence index hit a six-month high of 83.8 for May, up from 81.0 in April, though the outlook for obtaining a job continues to look poor, declining on the index to 67.9 from 75.2 last month.
The boost in the confidence index seems tied to post-war expectations, as well as the rise in stock market prices, and suggest that consumer spending should improve through the end of the year.
The boost in the confidence index seems tied to post-war expectations, as well as the rise in stock market prices, and suggest that consumer spending should improve through the end of the year.
- KC's View:
- Amazing how fragile it all seems, doesn’t it? We think that there's this overriding sense that things could get bad as fast as they could get good…it all depends, to a great degree, on how the wind blows from the Middle East, something over which we have no control.
