- David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices
When Bernanke was in position of the Fed's Chairman he cited two sectors of the economy as the main drivers behind economic growth—the labour and property markets. While Janet Yellen has not commented on them yet , both markets are showing surprising resilience even after winter's extremely cold weather conditions. A report from the S&P/Case-Shiller showed the pace of growth of American houses slowed slightly in January. The home price index, which covers 10 major cities advanced 13.5% in the year ended in January. A broader measure of 20 cities climbed 13.2%, almost matching analysts expectations. As it was expected, severe weather conditions have been blamed for a spate of disappointing data in the last several months. Improving housing market in the past year played a significant role in the rise of household wealth in the world's largest economy. As a result, consumers increased their spending, providing additional boost to the economic output.
What is more important, a gauge of consumer mood increased this month compared to February as hawkish comments from the Fed and brighter outlook are contributing to households' mood. The Conference Board's index soared to 82.3 in Match, from a revised 78.3 a month earlier, hitting the highest since January 2008. Moreover, business conditions are projected to improve over the next six months.
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