NEWSMAX: Consumer sentiment tumbled to its lowest in over a year in early March as more Americans were dissatisfied with government economic policies and fewer expected to see improvements in growth or the labor market, a survey released on Friday showed.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment dropped to 71.8 from 77.6 in February, confounding expectations for a slightly higher reading of 78. It was the lowest level since December 2011.
Across-the-board government spending cuts of $85 billion went into effect at the beginning of the month after U.S. lawmakers failed to come to a deal on government finances… (more)
EDITOR: The current stock market boom is largely based upon too much money chasing almost no investment opportunities due to the slow recovery. In large part, this is because Congress has failed to provide adequate fiscal stimulus and the Federal Reserve has had to rely on historically loose monetary policy.
The current yield on a two-year U. S. Treasury note is 1/4 of one percent! Transaction costs will consume that.
Until the Gross National Product begins to grow annually at a minimum of 3%, the stock market is largely a Ponzi scheme…although it may continue to climb rapidly for two to three years.
