Consumer Confidence Hits Four-Year High

The stock market is up nicely this morning. We had a few nuggets of good economic news. I was very pleased to see that the ISM report came in at 51.7. That was a small increase over the 51.5 for September. Any number over 50 means that the manufacturing sector of the economy is expanding.

The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence rose to its highest level since February 2008. ADP, the private payroll firm, said that 158,000 new jobs were created last month. Everyone is waiting for tomorrow morning when the official employment numbers from the government are released. Economists expect a gain of 125,000. Today’s jobless claims reports fell by 9,000 to 363,000. Economists were expecting 370,000.

On our Buy List, Ford ($F) said that Alan Mulally will stay on as CEO through 2014. That’s good news for Ford’s shareholders.

Posted by on November 1st, 2012 at 10:38 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.