U.S. consumers' mood brightened considerably in August, as their expectations about the near future were the most optimistic since the recession began, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The consumer confidence index rose to 54.1 in August from 47.4 in July. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the index to rise to 48.0. Consumer confidence "appears to be back on the mend," said Lynn Franco, head of the consumer research center at the Conference Board. Consumers were a bit more upbeat than they were in July about current economic conditions, but were markedly sunnier about the economy and their own financial situation over the next six months.
Source: Conference Board
That's actually pretty scary and doesn't look like much improvement to me.
ReplyDeleteit's all outlook...
ReplyDeleteOne indicator you might want to start tracking is the sum of yoy changes in Employment and Real Wages. Kariel does something similar but uses the product of Employment and Hourly wages while I used weekly.
ReplyDeleteStole the idea from Ellis in Ahead of the Curve, and to a limited extent, it's about the best indicator of future demand. Once asset ATMs (Stocks and Housing) disappear of course.