Today Is Bad, But Tomorrow Will Be Better

Well, consumer confidence ticked higher in January, rising to 89.3 on The Conference Board's gauge from 87.1 in December. That was basically in-line with consensus. Needless to say, the consumer mood remains markedly detached from stocks, or at least that's the impression one gets from simply plotting the S&P with measures of sentiment. As ever, I readily concede that the figure (below) is a "chart crime," but I think it serves a purpose. And besides, people like it. Notably, consumers