- J. Ann Selzer, founder of Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer & Co.
Fed officials and economists all over the world are confident about the prospects of the world's largest economy. Dukascopy May's Sentiment Index showed that both six-month and three-year economic outlook improved. However, it is worth mentioning that domestic experts are more upbeat in their assessments than foreign respondents. These figures echoes with the latest poll conducted by the CNBC that showed a number of key indicators of U.S. public opinion finally regained strength. A vast majority of Americans (91%) believe their home values will either remain stable or increase over the next year, suggesting the housing market is in the better condition than the Fed claimed. This is the highest level since March 2007. Furthermore, respondents picked real estate ahead of investment in gold for the first time in three years. The main reason for such an improvement in the sentiment is an expected rise in wages– 38% of respondents believe their wages will rise in 2015– the highest since December 2008.
Only 33% of Americans consider the current conditions as poor, a level, which is 5% lower from the previous survey. Despite brighter economic prospects, the White House can become a serious headwind for the economy, as Obama's approval rating plunged to 37.5%, with 55% of Americans disapproving the job he is doing. Together with poor marks on the economy and health care, the president was criticized for bad treatment of veterans and the latest prisoner deal.
© Dukascopy Bank SA