(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) American consumers turned more confident in December as hiring picked up, brightening the outlook for spending heading into 2014.
The Conference Board said its sentiment index climbed to 78.1 from 72 in November, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed by (Bloomberg) and the strongest year-end reading since 2007
The biggest employment gain in eight years, the rebound in housing and record stock values are boosting household wealth, which will help support spending in the new year
Companies from Ford Motor Co. (F) to Apple Inc. (AAPL) are pledging to expand operations in the U.S. as demand improves, a sign the world's biggest economy will strengthen in 2014
"We're ending 2013 with good momentum," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, and the second-best forecaster of consumer confidence over the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
A couple stops for a kiss while shopping in the Soho neighborhood of New York, on Dec. 30, 2013.
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