Bags are displayed in the window of a Kate Spade store in Pittsburgh on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. On Tuesday, the Conference Board reports on U.S. consumer confidence for February. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Higher-income consumers are feeling better about the economy, and their optimism is helping lift the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index.
The index, which tracks consumers' expectations of business and labor market conditions, increased slightly to 104.2 in March, up from 103.4 the month before.
"Driven by an uptick in expectations, consumer confidence improved somewhat in March, but remains below the average level seen in 2022 (104.5)," said Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economics at The Conference Board, in a press release. "The gain reflects an improved outlook for consumers under 55 years of age and for households earning $50,000 and over."
He added that while consumers are more optimistic about the near future, they are less sure about the current economy.
"The share of consumers saying jobs are 'plentiful' fell, while the share of those saying jobs are 'not so plentiful' rose," Ozyildirim said.
The index showed that consumers expect to spend less on discretionary purchases, such as entertainment and dining out, and more on less discretionary purchases, such as health care and home repairs.
A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol.
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years is on its way to the moon. The private lander from Astrobotic Technology blasted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, catching a ride on United Launch Alliance's brand new rocket Vulcan.
Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oil fell last year from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors helped worsen hunger worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
Wall Street is drifting higher after reports showed the job market remains solid, but key parts of the economy still don’t look like they’re overheating.
The Biden administration is docking more than $2 million in payments to student loan servicers that failed to send billing statements on time after the end of a pandemic payment freeze.
The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American job market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates.
A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company.
