The US Consumer Suddenly Feels Much, Much Better

Consumer confidence came in well ahead of expectations for March on the Conference Board's gauge, another sign that vaccine optimism and stimulus are having their intended effect. The headline print for this month was 109.7, easily better than consensus (96.9) and higher than the most optimistic guess from five-dozen economists. The range was 88 to 103. "Consumer Confidence increased to its highest level since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020," Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic I