Consumer spending has seen a five month high in February, showing a .7 increase. Contrasting this with a .4 increase in January, this figure is a good indicator that the economy is getting back onto solid ground. This increase in not only consumer spending, but consumer confidence rates in March, surprised many experts due to uncertain domestic and international economic factors. The pay roll tax cut is set to expire this month, which some economists believed would hurt spending. Along with the sequester, it is amazing that consumer confidence was not hurt. These increases are good indicators for future spending and confidence. Yet another sign that the United States is starting to work itself completely out the recession.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-29/consumer-spending-in-u-s-increases-by-most-in-five-months.html
By increasing spending we can hopefully introduce higher interest rates into the economy so banks will be more willing to give out loans, and also businesses can be more confident in investing in themselves
ReplyDeleteI think the confidence rating is almost better news than the consumer spending increasing. While spending helps stimulate our economy, consumer confidence will show forth in the long run and continue to carry us out of the recession into the future. It is also positive to see this increase amongst the various other factors that one would assume could in fact decrease the confidence.
ReplyDeleteAn increase in consumer spending is certainly excellent news for the U.S. economy. After the recession, the economy took relatively significant hits to consumer confidence and spending with people being uncertain about the economy. A rise in consumer confidence is a good sign that the economy is on the track to recovery. This should also lead to the housing market improving and the employment situation looking up further.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a rather positive sign. Hopefully consumer spending continues to increase even with the constant fluctuations in disposable income.
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