Slight miss as US economic confidence falls
US confidence in economic activity for September has fallen to 79.7 from August's figure of 81.8, missing expectations of 79.8 per cent.
BREAKING: US Consumer Confidence slows as Bernanke confuses the country
— Keith McCullough (@KeithMcCullough) September 24, 2013
And if you don't think confidence matters you have not looked for a job lately. Businesses still very reluctant to pull trigger on hires.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) September 24, 2013
Amna Asaf of Capital Economics says:
The balance of those households saying jobs are hard to get compared with those saying jobs are plentiful narrowed to a five-year low, suggesting that the unemployment rate is likely to fall further in the coming months. Overall, the level of Conference Board's confidence index has held up well given that rising interest rates have begun to dampen the housing market recovery. We suspect that if the rebound in equity prices is sustained, along with the drop back in gasoline prices, confidence will rebound.