GALLUP: U.S. Economic Confidence Spikes on Bin Laden Death

U.S. Economic Confidence Spikes on Bin Laden Death
Economic Confidence Index improves 10 points; 37% say economy is "getting better"
by Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's Economic Confidence Index improved 10 percentage points in the week after Osama bin Laden's death, May 2-8. This surge in confidence brought the Index up to -25, the highest weekly confidence level since mid-February and just three points shy of what it was during the same week in 2010. The question is whether this sharp improvement is a temporary "halo effect" or a key turning point in consumer optimism.



Although economic confidence was at a 2011 weekly low point of -39 during the week ending April 24, it improved to -35 the next week, just prior to the announcement of bin Laden's death. The Index surged to -25 last week after the U.S. military operation that resulted in his death, coincident with an expected

Gallup Daily tracking suggests that the six-point surge in Americans' approval of Obama may also have had a "halo effect" on consumers' economic perceptions last week, meaning that jubilation and positivity about this international "rally event" carried over to other consumer perceptions. Still, the precise extent to which the U.S. killing of bin Laden affected Americans' current confidence in the economy is unknown

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http://www.gallup.com/poll/147473/Economic-Confidence-Spikes-Bin-Laden-Death.aspx

:patriot:

Enjoy that, eh.