Last week,we noted that, despite storms, wildfires, quakes, higher gas prices, and failed Washington policies, Americans are - according to The University of Michigan - their most confident since January 2004.
Additionally, businesses are cock-a-hoop BUT the real economy is seriously lagging...
This all seems a little odd... and sure enough, we get a survey from Gallup that seems to fit reality a lot more accurately...
S&P futures point to a slightly lower open, while Asian and European stocks are likewise modestly in the red. Trading volumes are muted for most markets on Monday with investors spooked by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula. It is also a holiday-shortened week in much of the West. As Bloomberg puts it, there is a "sense of unease" across markets, with global stocks mixed as investors weighed looming security risks and French bonds retreating ahead of the election following the surprising surge of far-leftist Melenchon in the polls.
Via Dana Lyons' Tumblr,
The percentage of respondents in UM’s survey of consumers who view a stock rally over the next 12 months as a “sure thing” is near record levels.
Submitted by Mason Clark via TheCollegeFix.com,
A student activist group at the University of Michigan is demanding campus officials provide them with “a permanent designated space on central campus for Black students and students of color to organize and do social justice work.”
The demand is one of several lodged by “Students4Justice,” who this month ratcheted up campus demonstrations to pressure administrators to cave, complaining in a newly launched petition that President Mark Schlissel has snubbed their demands.