Mid-Day Report: Consumers More Confident

A survey by Reuters and the University of Michigan show Consumer Sentiment at an increase.  Here is an excerpt from this Yahoo! article.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its preliminary index of sentiment for December rose to 73.4, just a touch below the year’s high set in September. This was above the 67.4 for November and exceeded economists’ expectations of a reading of 68.5.

The data eased concerns that the economy’s recovery could falter because of lackluster consumer spending. The economy resumed growing in the third quarter, fueled mostly by government stimulus.

With the labor market starting to stabilize and household wealth rising, there is growing optimism that consumer spending will soon pick up.

• The bond market is not being kind to mortgage rates today.  Currently the 30 year bond stands at 4.52%. 
• The White House is considering one plan that would spin off a new entity from the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program and give money to banks without restrictions so long as the funds were used to support loans to small businesses.
• U.S. import prices rose 1.7 percent in November in their largest gain since June, driven higher by fuel costs, a government report showed on Friday.

More “At the End of the Day”!