“A four-month high in U.S. consumer confidence reflects Americans’ sunnier views on both their current situation and outlook, a positive sign for the economy, data from the New York-based Conference Board showed Tuesday,” Scott Lanman reports for Bloomberg. “With unemployment near a 16-year low and U.S. stocks reaching record highs, consumers remain upbeat, which should continue to support the household spending that accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.”
“‘Overall, consumers foresee the current economic expansion continuing well into the second half of this year,’ Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement,” Lanman reports. “Share of respondents citing ‘good’ business conditions rose to the highest level since early 2001; the proportion expecting them to improve over the next six months also increased.”
“Labor differential, measuring share of those saying jobs are plentiful minus the share saying they’re hard to get, widened to 16.1 percentage points, the most since August 2001,” Lanman reports. “Buying plans up for autos and homes, down for major appliances.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Bad news for South Korean dishwasher makers. Good news for everyone else, including Apple (especially with next-gen iPhones, the new HomePod, and expected new Apple TV on the way)!