Leading Economic Indicators Keep Rising, but…
February 24, 2010 at 09:41 AM EST
Last Thursday the Conference Board published its Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. In January this historically-reliable indicator increased 0.3 percent after shooting up 1.2 percent in December and 1.1 percent in November. This was the tenth consecutive rise! Five of the ten components made positive contributions: The interest rate spread, stock prices, supplier deliveries, factory workweek, and consumer expectations. The LEI’s much more important year-over-year percentage change also rose … from 6.7 percent in November, to 8.1 percent in December, to a very healthy 8.7 percent…