U.S. Economy: Consumers Gain Confidence as Employment Improves

Consumers gained more confidence in May than projected as a recovering U.S. economy raised expectations hiring will pick up in coming months.

Employment gains in five of the past six months may be helping overcome the damage from slumping stock prices as investors fret the European debt crisis will slow global growth. Meantime, the looming end of a government homebuyer tax credit signals property values may stagnate for the rest of the year as foreclosures mount.

“I’m relatively optimistic that we’ll get through the European debt crisis without dire economic consequences, but the jury is still out on that one,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. Home prices “are going to drag along the bottom for a while until we get a better handle on the overhang” of inventories.

Read Full Article from BusinessWeek

- Posted: 2010-05-25 11:30:35

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