Tag Archives: Conference Board

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, a measure of economic developments as an indicator of future trends, increased 0.8 percent last month to 104.4 following a downwardly revised August reading that showed no change. Nine of the index's ten components contributed to the latest increase.

The Conference Board reported a drop of nearly eight points in its monthly measure of consumer sentiment, putting the group's index at 86 from August's upwardly revised reading of 93.4. Economists had expected a slight nudge upward to 92.5 from an originally reported 92.4 the previous month.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.2 percent last month to 103.8, half the increase expected by economists. The index grew 1.1 percent in July and 0.7 percent in June. "The LEI continued to rise in August, although at a slower rate than in July," said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at the Conference Board. "Despite concerns about investment picking up, the economy should continue expanding at a moderate pace for the remainder of the year."

The Conference Board released Monday its Employment Trends Index (ETI) for August, reporting a slight increase from July to a reading of 121.29. "The strong increase in the Employment Trends Index in recent months signals robust job growth through the fall," said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board, adding that August's lower-than-expected employment numbers "seem to be a one-month deviation from a stronger trend."

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index climbed 2.1 points to 92.4 in the group's August reading, marking the highest level of confidence since October 2007. August's increase was driven by an increase in Conference Board's measure of current economic sentiment, which grew to 94.6 from 87.9 in July. Most of that was spurred by more promising reports over the spring and summer as business and labor market indicators improved.

Leading economic indicators in the United States experienced a sharp increase in July, signaling what analysts hope will be a stronger second half of 2014. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.9 percent last month to 103.3, building on improvements of 0.6 percent in both May and June.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index reached 90.9 in the group's July survey, up from 86.4 in June. As of July, the index stands at its highest level since before the Great Recession. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said the surge was fueled by strong job growth and a brighter short-term outlook for the labor market and personal incomes.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) edged up 0.3 percent last month to 102.2, flattening out slightly after May's 0.7 percent pickup. Conference Board economist Ataman Oxyildirim attributed the increase to ongoing positive trends in the labor market and an improved outlook for new manufacturing orders, which have helped offset some of the weakness observed in housing so far this year.

Consumers are continuing to progress on the long journey toward restoring their faith in the American economy, according to a monthly Consumer Confidence Index report released by the Conference Board. The index, one of the leading predictors of economic growth in all sectors of the economy, now stands at 85.2, up from 82.2 in May. The largely positive findings could indicate that consumers are more ready to commit to larger, longer-term purchases.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), which tracks signs of future developments, rose 0.5 percent in May to 101.7, building on gains of 0.3 percent in April and 1.0 percent in March. "Housing permits held the index back slightly but the LEI still points to an expanding economy and its pace may even pick up in the second half of the year," said Conference Board economist Ataman Ozyildirim.