US News

Harry Dope · Guest

Consumer confidence rebounds in May
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer Tue May 29, 1:17 PM ET

NEW YORK - Consumer confidence bounced back unexpectedly in May, helped by
optimism about the job market even as shoppers' concerns about gasoline
price-driven inflation increased.

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence
Index rose to 108.0 in May, up from a revised 106.3 in April. Analysts had
expected the reading to fall to 104.5. The May reading was the highest since
March when the index was at 108.2.

"The short-term outlook remains cautious and rising gasoline prices are
having a negative impact on consumers' inflation expectations," said Lynn
Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a
statement

Franco added, "All in all, confidence levels continue to suggest growth,
albeit at a slow pace."

The Present Situation Index, which measures how shoppers feel now about
economic conditions, rose to 136.1 from 133.5 in April. The Expectations
Index, which measures consumers' outlook for the next six months, edged up
to 89.2 from 88.2.

Economists closely monitor consumer confidence since consumer spending
accounts for two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity.

The upbeat data helped push stocks higher. The Dow Jones industrial average
rose 33.16, or 0.25 percent, to 13,540.44

Gary Thayer, chief economist at AG Edwards & Sons Inc., called the
Conference Board report "encouraging," noting that a still healthy job
picture is offsetting shoppers' worries about higher gasoline prices.

"Although people may not be happy with high gasoline prices, they are happy
with the job situation," said Thayer."...People are unhappy about things but
they are not changing their buying habits significantly."

The report from the Conference Board was good news for the nation's
retailers, which struggled through the worst same-store sales performance on
record in April. Same-store sales are sales at stores opened at least a year
and are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.

The weak performance has fueled concerns that gasoline prices and the
slumping housing market are eating away at spending. For now, the cutbacks
in spending seem to be contained, according to Thayer.

And while data released Tuesday gave no clear signs of an end to the housing
slump, Thayer noted that he feels confident that consumers can "work through
continued weakness in housing" as long as the employment situation remains
healthy. Standard & Poor's housing index on Tuesday showed that U.S. home
prices fell 1.4 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago, the
first time since 1991 that prices have shown a quarterly decline.

On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes surged
in April by the biggest amount in 14 years, but the median price of a new
home fell by the largest amount on record. On Friday, The National
Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell by a
larger-than-expected amount in April, while the median price of a home sold
fell for a ninth straight month.

Thayer and other analysts will be closely watching the Labor Department's
report on employment, to be released Friday. Economists are expecting
140,000 jobs to be added in May and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.5
percent.

That follows a disappointing report, released in early May, that showed that
payrolls grew by just 88,000, marking the weakest job gain in two and a half
years. The jobless rate edged up to 4.5 percent.

--
"The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is
worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done and then
we will leave and we will leave behind a free Iraq." President George Bush
2003

Lamont Cranston · Guest

Story says nothing about the best economy in USA history rolling on.

"Harry Dope" <TheWarIsLost@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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George Grapman · Guest

Lamont Cranston wrote:

Server 13 · Guest

"Harry Dope" <TheWarIsLost@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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Amanda Williams · Guest

George Grapman <sfgeorge@paccbell.net> allegedly said in news:GYi7i.6714
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Mani Deli · Guest

The U.S. is run like Enron, they spout the same bullshit, have two
sets of books, release crooked statistics and tell you all's well
while they are robbing you blind.

Anyone who makes less than 60,000 and votes Republican is voting to
screw himself.

liberalhere@yahoo.com · Guest

"Server 13" <its@casual.com> wrote in
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Rich Travsky · Guest

Harry Dope wrote: