Americans' confidence in the economy remains relatively high as the presidential transition period continues.
Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index averaged +7 for the week ending Jan. 8 -- down a bit from the prior week's score of +11, the highest weekly average recorded since Gallup began tracking economic confidence daily in January 2008. Americans' views of the economy have been slightly more positive than negative since the post-election surge in confidence in mid-November.
The recent upswing in economic confidence was a result of a significant improvement in Republicans' confidence after their party's nominee, Donald Trump, won the election. Independents have also become more confident in the economy, though to a lesser degree. Whereas only Democrats were more positive than negative about the economy before the election, now Democrats (+6), Republicans (+17) and independents (+2) all have positive index scores.
Americans' economic confidence may be shifting under a new political order, but when the dust settles after Jan. 20, factors other than party identification will likely determine whether Americans become more or less confident in the economy in 2017, Gallup reported.
Meanwhile, the stock market’s rise to record highs after Donald Trump’s presidential victory shows that investors are optimistic that the economy will improve as President Barack Obama leaves office, says Charles Gasparino, author and Fox Business Network senior correspondent.
“His promise to cut both corporate taxes and red tape will translate into higher corporate profits so businesses can expand and create jobs,” Gasparino writes in the New York Post. “Real unemployment can finally decline not because people are dropping out of the workforce but because they’re actually working again.”
Trump will come into office with Republicans controlling the Senate and House of Representatives, making economic reforms a realistic possibility instead of prolonged gridlock. Under President Obama, the U.S. economy never exceeded 3 percent yearly growth for the first time since World War II.
“With the GOP controlling the House as well as the Senate, traders see real economic growth on the horizon, not just a Fed-induced stock-market bubble where interest rates are so low there’s no other place to put your money,” Gasparino says.
(Newsmax wire services contributed to this report).
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