CONSUMER
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Consumer Confidence on the Rise: The closely watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment index showed consumer confidence still gaining steam as the Christmas holidays approach. The university’s preliminary December consumer sentiment index jumped to 97.7 from 91.6 in the final November report, market sources said. The current conditions component of the index was reported to be 106.7, against 102.1 in November. The expectations index climbed to 92.0 compared with 84.8 last month.
