U.S. Consumers

U.S. consumers' mood brightened in early January, but was still significantly less optimistic than a year earlier, a report showed recently. The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers index of confidence rose to 80.5 from December's 75.5, topping economists' median forecast for a reading of 74.5. Overall, the data were consistent with personal spending growth of 2% in 2008, starting with about a 1 percent growth rate in the first quarter and rising through the rest of the year, the survey reported. The survey's index of current economic conditions jumped to 98.1, the highest since August, from 91.0 in Dec. The promise of a fiscal stimulus package and interest rate cuts from the Fed Reserve could counter some of the gloom evoked by recent stock market losses. The Reuters/University of Michigan reading on consumer expectations rose to 69.1 from 65.6. Still, consumers took a negative view toward their current finances and were concerned about rising inflation and unemployment, the Reuters/University of MI data showed. The U.S. economy has been plagued by a housing crisis that spread to mortgage-linked financial assets and crippled the credit system, threatening growth.