The final print for UMich Consumer Confidence beat expectations but that is about the best anyone can hope to glean from it. A slight improvement from the preliminary April data, the current and outlook economic indices both dropped for the first time this year and it has now been four months of no change year-over-year in this important sentiment indicator as today's measure of 'happiness' is exactly the same as that of April 2012. Perhaps US consumer are the most confident because their personal savings are now the lowest they have been in the past five years.
4 beats in a row but the first drop of the year...
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As Sentiment has stgnated for four months...
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with personal savings rates plunging...
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Charts: Bloomberg