Leading Economic Indicators Surge in April

And by surge I mean down 5% year over year.

Bloomberg reports on the recent jump:

The index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose more than forecast in April, a sign the deepest slump in at least half a century is easing. The Conference Board’s gauge increased 1 percent, the biggest gain since November 2005, after a 0.2 percent drop in March, the New York-based group said today.

The index points to the direction of the economy over the next three to six months. Rising stock prices and improving consumer confidence are among the components of the leading index that are stoking speculation the economy will begin to grow again in the next six months. Still, with unemployment at a 25-year high and projected to keep climbing into 2010, and lenders restricting credit, the recovery may be muted.

Update:
An anonymous poster noticed what I was getting at in the first sentence of this post.

The spin seems to be getting worse, if that's possible. Titanic sinks. Port of NY less crowded.

Source: Conference Board