Consumers also felt better about price increases with expectations for inflation in the coming 12 months down to 5.8 percent from 6 percent. NEW YORK Consumer confidence jumped to its highest level in seven months in September as Americans were more optimistic about the job market and income prospects, a private sector report showed on Tuesday. The "jobs hard to get" index slipped to 39.9 percent from 40.6 percent the month before, while the "jobs plentiful" index rose to 8.3 percent from 7.2 percent.
– Consumer confidence soared to a seven-month high, flying far above analyst expectations, according to a Conference Board report released today. The board's index came in at 70.3, up from 61.3 a month earlier. That's a whole heck of a lot better than the 63 that the economists Reuters polled had expected. That wasn't the only good economic news on the day either. Home prices increased 1.2% in July compared to a year earlier, according to an S&P/Case Shiller index report. It's the second straight year-over-year increase—after two years without a gain, the AP reports. Prices rose in 16 of the 20 cities surveyed. Hard-hit cities saw especially big gains; Phoenix saw homes shoot up 16.6%.