The half-full economy

If the economy is getting worse, how come people are feeling better?

Just days after people pushed back from the Thanksgiving dinner to rush out to buy stuff they probably could live without, The Conference Board reports today that consumer confidence is now at its highest point in the last four-and-a-half years.

The job market is improving and people are spending money again, the Associated Press reports…

The report also supported the findings of a separate survey from the University of Michigan released last week, which showed consumer sentiment at a five-year high. Still, both surveys increased at slower rates than the previous month.

Americans are growing more optimistic because they see the job market getting improving, the Conference Board said. Employers added 171,000 jobs in October and more jobs were created in August and September than first thought.

Also this morning, Standard & Poor’s reported that the Minneapolis area recorded its sixth straight month of home resale price increases. That hasn’t happened since 2005.

In fact, the Case Shiller Index for September puts the region near the top…

In the nation, home prices are up almost 4 percent from a year ago.

Good times, indeed.

Meanwhile, the stock market indices are all off. It’s a half-empty crowd.