Consumers Seeing a Turnaround

The May consumer confidence reading handily topped estimates of 42.6 with a reading of 54.9. This is the highest reading from consumers since September 2008, just before the October market collapse. The Conference Board reports that consumers appear to believe that the worst is behind us. The consumer confidence number is based on a survey of 5,000 households gauging their views on business and employment conditions. Increased consumer confidence will lead to higher levels of spending and increased GDP.