Consumer Sentiment at Highest in Five Years in October

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Consumer sentiment at highest in five years in October

Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:08am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five years in October as Americans were more upbeat about prospects for the economy and their own finances, a survey released on Friday showed.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 82.6 from 78.3 in September. It was at its highest level since September 2007 on a final reading basis.

Still, that was slightly below the preliminary reading of 83.1 and shy of economists' expectations for 83.

There are also clouds on the horizon. After the presidential election in November, policymakers will have to deal with a package of scheduled spending cuts and tax increases, and political wrangling could prompt a decline in consumer confidence as sharp as the recent increase, according to the survey.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89P0OR20121026

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Oh, yes, those problems on the horizon. For the moment, I'm focused

on one phrase:

After the presidential election in November.

There will be hell to pay in the coming years as our structural problems begin to strangle us, but our chances are significantly better with Obama at the wheel rather than Willard, who would have junkmen in the basement of the White House at the end of his term, stripping out the copper pipes for salvage as he leaves.

[Hissyspit]

2. I think it's a rather silly paragraph.

Essentially, it says: "Consumer confidence is up, but it could possibly go down in the future!"

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I took from it the notion that nothing terrible is likely to happen before the election,

and this will work in Obama's favor.


I also happen to believe that we have real, serious structural problems that bid fair to bring us down if we don't lift ourselves into the 21st century with green energy, high-speed rail, advanced telecommunications…well, you know the litany.