Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at JP Morgan, examines the improving consumer confidence in the United States and the recent economic progress that has been made.
"For the economy, rising confidence is clearly a positive as it not only supports consumer spending but also tends to boost hiring and other business spending. So far this year, the economy has overcome substantial fiscal drag from Washington as spending has been assisted by increases in household wealth and pent-up demand. Rising confidence going into the second half of the year could provide further support possibly allowing real GDP growth to move above its recent near 2% trend growth rate."