Re: US Consumer Confidence index surges

[Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 11:32 PM 3/27/01 +0100, you wrote:
> What went right/wrong?
>
> > The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index surged to 117.0
> > in March from a revised 109.2 in February. That surprised economists who
> > expected that falling stock markets and rising corporate layoffs would
> > continue to sap the confidence of consumers, whose spending counts for
> > about two-thirds of the economy.
>
> > The reading is still some 25 points below the peak levels from last
> > summer. But the rise could help give the United States a boost since
> > consumer spending fuels about two-thirds of the nation's economy.

Perhaps people have faith that Greenspan will save the US economy's bacon.

(Of course, it's important to remember than there was a wave of optimism in
the US after 1929, leading to the "sucker's market" at Wall Street in 1930
or 1931 (I don't have the info here). Its name says it all.)

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine