WASHINGTON – American consumers are growing more confident about the job market, companies are ordering more equipment and home prices are rising in most major cities.
The latest batch of government data suggests that the economy is improving just as the holiday shopping season begins. The only threat is a package of huge spending cuts and tax increases that will kick in unless Congress strikes a budget deal by year’s end.
Rising home values, more hiring and lower gas prices pushed consumer confidence in November to the highest level in nearly five years. And steady consumer spending appears to have encouraged businesses to invest more in October after pulling back over the summer.
Those trends could boost economic growth slightly in the final three months of the year.![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
↧