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The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index, a leading national poll on consumer confidence, today revealed that economic optimism rose a cautious 0.2% in June after last month's 12.2% drop. This month's reading of 41.7 was up overall from May's 41.6. The index has now been in negative territory for 22 consecutive months. A reading above 50.0 signals optimism and below 50.0 indicates pessimism on IBD/TIPP indexes. The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index has established a strong track record of foreshadowing the confidence indicators issued later each month by the University of Michigan and The Conference Board.

Today, the Council of Economic Advisers released its annual Economic Report of the President. The Report shows that three years into the Trump Administration, the U.S. economy continues to outperform pre-2016 election expectations, delivering inclusive gains to American families. As President Trump wrote in his letter introducing the Report, “These results did not come about by accident. Instead, they were supported by our foundational pillars for economic growth that put Americans first, including tax cuts, deregulation, energy independence, and trade renegotiation.”Contrary to expectations that the expansion would slow as it matured, economic output and labor market gains have accelerated over...

The world is allegedly on hold as it waits for Friday’s U.S. jobs report. We’ve been here before, with relatively disappointing results. Yet hope springs eternal, since every other economic statistic has been red hot over the past nine months. Before the December and January jobs reports, I took the “over” in the pre-announcement betting. Today’s consensus for tomorrow’s report is about 130,000. So fearlessly, I’ll take the “over” again. There’s a good front-page story in Thursday’s Investor’s Business Daily chronicling the rising trends for job-linked variables such as orders, work weeks, and delivery times. All these suggest new job...

President Bush appeared on "Meet the Press" on Sunday in an interview that pundits believe is the start of his campaign. Monday, he left the White House to fly to Missouri for a speech on the economy. It is also the day his "Economic Report of the President" was sent to Congress along with a letter in which he highlighted salient points.