Index of U.S. Leading Indicators Rises More than Forecast

[Purveyor]

The index of U.S. leading economic indicators climbed more than forecast in July, a sign of sustained expansion in the world’s largest economy.

The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months increased 0.4 percent after a revised 0.4 percent drop in June, the New York-based group said today. Economists projected the gauge would rise by 0.2 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Retail sales rose more than forecast last month, showing households are looking beyond the slowdown and increasing consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. The housing market also has signaled improvement. At the same time, unemployment remains above 8 percent, which is consistent with the Federal Reserve’s view that economic growth will “remain moderate over coming quarters.”

“What we’ve seen so far is a decent batch of July numbers, not necessarily convincing to the point that we’re going to see a sharp turnaround in the economy, but it is putting at bay concerns that we’re heading for another recession,” Sean Incremona, senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York, said before the report. “Housing is improving -- that’s helping the bottom line. But it’s still a very slow recovery.”

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-19/index-of-u-s-leading-indicators-falls-more-than-forecast.html

[WI_DEM]

1. Good! but watch out some might attack you for posting good economic news.

[Purveyor]

4. Oh I get them all the time. Entertaining actually. ;) eom

[reflection]

2. Let the record reflect that Romney's ridiculous idea

of lowering or doing away with the capital gains tax would have a direct negative effect on consumer spending, which as the article says, accounts for about 70% of the economy. He would throw the recovery on the scrap heap merely to appease his wealthy counterparts.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Why does the url say "index […] falls more than forecast"

when the article talks about it rising?

[Purveyor]

5. Looks like they grabbed a previous article dated 07-19-2012 and replaced it with this one.

2012-07-19/index-of-u-s-leading-indicators-falls-more-than-forecast