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2008 Economic Calendar |
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Resource Center » U.S. & Intl Recaps | Release Dates | Why Investors Care | Today's Calendar
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The Conference Board compiles a survey of consumer attitudes on present economic conditions and expectations of future conditions. Five thousand consumers across the country are surveyed each month. While the level of consumer confidence is associated with consumer spending, the two do not move in tandem each and every month. Why Investors Care
| Released on 2/28/06 For Feb 2006 | ||||||||||||
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Highlights
Consumer confidence fell back to 101.7 in February vs. 106.8 in January, not a dramatic fall but one weighed down for a second month by the expectations portion of the index which fell to 83.3 vs. 92.1. The present situation index actually rose to 129.3 from 128.8, but declining expectations are a danger signal for future confidence. Note that the main index is a 60%-40% composite, with expectations given the greater weight.
The report's jobs readings are always closely followed and, in a plus for the report, showed little change. Those saying jobs are hard to get rose 4 tenths to 20.7%, offset by those saying jobs are plentiful which rose 3 tenths to 27.3%. But in a negative again tied to expectations, those saying there will be fewer jobs six months out rose a sharp 4.8 percentage points in the month to 20.0%.
Today's data will not strengthen expectations for consumer spending nor spirits in the market. Still, the trend of firming job growth may help firm consumer attitudes as the year unfolds.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose almost 3 percentage points in January to 106.3. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell in early February and this bodes poorly for The Conference Board's attitude survey. However, these two surveys can be at odds with one another.
Consumer confidence Consensus Forecast for Feb 06: 104
Range: 99.8 to 107
![[Chart]](chart.gif)
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Typically retail sales will move in tandem with consumer optimism - although not necessarily each and every month. |
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