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Consumer News Wednesday 22nd August 2007
July's Economic index raised by consumer confidenceAP - Stock prices and consumer confidence gains drove The Conference Board's leading economic indicator index to 0.4%. This gauge of the US economy's future had dropped to 0.3% in the month of June.Several indicators in The Conference Board's report helped raise the gauge these included; An easing in gas prices down from record levels and growth employment and income pushed the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer expectations index to its highest level in five months. Orders for new consumer goods also added to the index. A strong job market, with unemployment figures close to a six year low and first time applications for out of work benefits down to a weekly average of 306,000. The highest gains in the index came from money supply adjusted for inflation. This added 0.8% and carries the biggest weighting of the ten indicators used to create the index. Further increases were attributed to a rise in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Indicators that subtracted from the gauge included orders for non-defence capital goods, building permits and housing starts. A sign of future construction, building permits fell in July to 1.373 million, the lowest since October 1996. A ten year low was also recorded in housing starts, suggesting a slow recovery from the current slump. The reported gains in the index have since receded due to a slump in share prices and an announcement from the Federal Reserve this past Friday, stating that risks to the six-year expansion "have increased appreciably." Economists have said that the homebuilding recession is inhibiting growth and many of the indicators that pushed up the leading index, now have less favorable forecasts. Other Consumer Recent News and ArticlesHow Long Until A Repossession Is Removed From Your Credit Report » Create An Action Plan To Deal With Your Poor Credit Score » |
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