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| Home Front Economy |
| Consumer confidence skyrockets, Donks hardest hit |
| 2006-09-16 |
| That marked an improvement from August, when consumer confidence sank to a three-month low of 74.8. At that time, the toll of soaring energy prices was blamed for weighing on consumers' psyches. The recent drop in energy prices, however, provided people with some relief and propelled confidence to its best reading since February. "The drop in pump prices is very visible to consumers and seems to have a huge impact," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group. "Consumers seem to view gasoline prices as a barometer to their overall well being." After surging past $3 a gallon in many areas, gasoline prices are now hovering around $2.62 a gallon nationwide, the Energy Department says. Economists believe that price relief figured prominently in the upswing in consumers' feelings about current economic conditions. This measure shot up to 118.8 in early September. That was up sharply from 92.1 in August and was the highest reading on record. Ipsos started the confidence index in 2002. |
| Posted by:Thomose Sneash1945 |
| #4 The price of gas affects the price of just about everything else we buy - food, clothing, everything but housing. A drop in gas prices means a gradual drop in everything else that has to be transported from one place to another. Dropping gas prices do help. More stateside oil production and refining would help even more. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-09-16 23:57 |
| #3 CyberSarge -- the Donks have to destroy the US in order to save it. Look at their plans for our health care industry. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-09-16 17:06 |
| #2 It is possibe that this is bad news for the Donks because they have invested in failure in order to win. We have to be losing the WOT in order for the Donks to regain power. The economy has to tank because the republicans are evil. Poverty, crime, and education have to in peril otherwise the Donks can't win. The common theme here is not a positive one. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-09-16 15:42 |
| #1 "Consumers seem to view gasoline prices as a barometer to their overall well being." LOL! Sad yet true. What is gasoline these days? 50% of the variable cost of running an auto? |
| Posted by: 6 2006-09-16 13:42 |