Economic Issues Gaining Importance Politically; Gallup's economic data suggest the consumer credit crunch is getting worse.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe Synopsis: Exit polls show that economic conditions were important to New Hampshire voters in the Republican and the Democratic primaries. Gallup data suggest that this focus on the economy is likely to increase in the weeks and months ahead. PRINCETON, NJ --...

Consumer Credit Market Perceptions: Best in Two Years; Still, a majority of Americans say now is a bad time to spend money.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe Synopsis: The January Experian/Gallup Personal Credit Index poll shows consumers' perceptions of the credit markets at their highest levels since February 2005. This is good news for consumer spending, but will tumbling real estate prices produce a negative "wealth effect" and limit consumer buying...

Nearly One-Third of Credit-Card Owners Hold High Balances; Six in 10 credit-card owners pay off their credit cards monthly.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Thirty percent of credit-card holders say they have a balance of more than $2,000, and 19% say their balance exceeds $5,000. PRINCETON, NJ -- Forty-three percent of American credit-card holders say they always pay off the full balance on...

Consumer Confidence Takes a Tumble in Mid-January; Early January preliminary index of consumer sentiment already out of date.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe Synopsis: New Jan. 19-20 Gallup polling shows consumer expectations at their lowest point since Gallup began measuring expectations in July 1991. Although it's early, so far, talk of interest-rate cuts and federal rebates have not made consumers feel better about the future direction of...

Most Consumers Say Economy Getting Worse; Fed's actions under Bernanke continue to trail consumer psychology.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe Synopsis: A Jan. 4-6 Gallup Poll shows that more than three in four consumers feel the U.S. economy is getting worse, not better. Even if the Federal Reserve Board cuts rates later this month, it may still be behind the curve. PRINCETON,...

Consumers, Investors, Small-Business Owners Positive on Economy; So why do so many consumers think economic conditions are getting worse, not better?
Byline: Dennis Jacobe Synopsis: New Gallup Polls show consumers rating current economic conditions as the best in six years, investor optimism at its highest point in three years, and consumer credit perceptions and small-business-owner optimism at new highs. So why do so many consumers say the economy...

US job growth strong; new rate hike seen certain.
Byline: TIM AHMANN WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (Reuters) US job growth picked up last month as employers added 207,000 workers to their payrolls, a healthy gain that led Wall Street to increase bets on more rate rises from the Federal Reserve. The Labor Departments July employment...

E-Mail Sends Wrong Message, According to Associated Credit Bureaus, Inc.
WASHINGTON, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent anonymous e-mail containing false and misleading information regarding the use of personal consumer data has been making the rounds of the Internet. Associated Credit Bureaus, Inc. would like to warn consumers about it. The e-mail states that a...

Profnet Sources for Tuesday, March 27: Consumer Confidence Rebounds.
Consumer confidence made a forceful comeback in March after declining for five consecutive months, apparently unshaken by the recent turmoil in the stock markets, a private research firm said Tuesday. The New York-based Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index shot up to 117, up from a revised...

Japan Composite Indexes for April 2001.
NEW YORK, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The leading index for Japan decreased 0.2 percent in April, and the coincident index decreased 0.2 percent in April. Taken together, the two composite indexes indicate significant weakness in the Japanese economy. * With the decline in April, the...