The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in February 2011, declined in March. The index now stands at 63.4 (1985 = 100), down from 72.0 in February. The Present Situation Index improved to 36.9 from 33.8. The Expectations Index decreased to 81.1 from 97.5 last month.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by The Nielsen Co., a global provider of information and analytics concerning what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for March’s preliminary results was March 16, 2011.
“The sharp decline in confidence was prompted by a sharp decline in expectations,” says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center. “Consumers’ inflation expectations rose significantly in March, and their income expectations soured, a combination that will likely impact spending decisions. On the other hand, consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved, indicating that while the short-term future may be uncertain, the economy continues to expand.”
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Data Illiteracy
When I first saw this article, I figured it was a joke article written by Davis Ballestracci. How can you have in the same issue an article by Davis, and then follow it up with a point to point comparison (given two numbers they will be different) that leaves fans like me of Davis just laughing, or at least wondering about the data sanity of the QD authors.
Right on, Steve!
I'm with Steve...if any fool can make a trend out of two points, any fool could have written this article...Remember Don Wheeler's "Teen Smoking" article? If you haven't seen that, you should get a copy. It will tell you why this type of analysis can be completely misleading.
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