UMich Consumer Sentiment surged to 98.2 - smashing expectations of 94.1 by the most in almost 2 years. This is the highest sentiment since February 2004...!!This all seems very odd... especially in light of the dismal retail sales data and weak wage growth (and we note this is the preliminary print). Inflation expectations plunged to 2.4% (from 2.8%) - the lowest since 2010. American optimism remains unphased as a majority (55.2%) now expect higher wages in the next year (despite earninsg actually dropping!!) [6] 54% of Americans think it is a good time to SELL a house.
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This seemed to sum it all up nicely....
pic.twitter.com/PIPscC1IX8 [8]
— Not Jim Cramer (@Not_Jim_Cramer) January 16, 2015 [9]
Charts: Bloomberg
