The outlook for the holiday shopping season brightened on Tuesday with news that US consumer confidence soared last month in response to a drop in gasoline prices and a pickup in the job market.
The surge in the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index raised hopes that US citizens will be shopping enthusiastically by the end of the holidays despite this past weekend's mixed start to the season. Separate reports on Tuesday of record home sales and a jump in durable goods orders provided more signs of an improving economy that's likely to boost shoppers' spirits.
"It looks like consumers will be in a more giving mood," said Gary Thayer, chief economist at A.G. Edwards & Sons. But he added, "I don't think they will spend with abandon. There are still some tight financial problems for many people. We probably will see active shopping for bargains."
The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 98.9 last month, the highest level since August, when the reading was 105.5.
The figure for last month surpassed analysts' forecasts for a reading of 90, and it was also up from 85.2 in October. The results reversed a two-month decline.
"A decline of more than US$0.40 in gasoline prices this month and the improving job outlook have combined to help restore consumers' confidence," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.
"While the index remains below its pre-Katrina levels, the shock of the hurricanes and subsequent leap in gas prices has begun wearing off just in time for the holiday season," Franco said.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes shot up by 13 percent last month, the biggest one-month gain in more than 12 years.
The department also reported a 3.4 percent increase in orders for big-ticket manufactured goods in October.
The sharp rebound in confidence helped lift the Dow Jones industrial average almost 70 points early in the session, but the stock market ended lower, with the Dow falling 2.56, or 0.02 percent, to close at 10,888.16, as investors worried that a strengthening economy would lead to the tightening of interest rates.
But the batch of good news doesn't necessarily mean the economy is expected to remain robust. Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc recently cut its sales forecast for next year, citing in part weaker demand in several of its markets.
And merchants do face big challenges for the holiday season. Although gasoline prices have fallen in recent weeks, they are still higher than a year ago, and home heating costs are expected to force consumers to budget carefully.
The official start to the season was mixed, as discounters and electronic retailers fared the best but some apparel stores were disappointed with their weekend results. A clearer picture should come today, when major retailers report their sales figures for last month.
The International Council of Shopping Centers said on Tuesday that sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, rose 5.1 percent for the week ended Saturday, compared to the same period last year.
Longer shopping hours on Friday helped retailers bring in more sales, said Michael Niemira, chief economist at the trade group.
The rebound in consumer sentiment does provide some encouragement for the rest of the holiday season. One component of the Conference Board report, which examines consumers' views of the current economic situation, rose to 114.0 from 107.8.
The expectations index, which measures consumers' outlook over the next six months, surged to 88.8 from 70.1 last month.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique