Feb 28, 2017

Consumer confidence hits 15-year high

Christopher Matthews

The Conference Board's consumer confidence measure rose to a 15-year high on Tuesday, reflecting Americans high hopes for improved business conditions, a better labor market, and higher pay.

Source: Conference Board

The most important thing: Younger consumers' confidence actually plunged, but was more than offset by a huge jump in among those 55 years and older. Because older folks tend to have much more wealth in the stock market, it makes sense that their confidence is rising faster. But the rise has been so dramatic that one must conclude that there's a political dimension to these trends as well. The difference in changes to consumer confidence perfectly matches the age divide between Trump voters and Clinton voters. It's not views of economic fundamentals that drives opinions on politics, but the other way around.

Go deeper

Axios

Coronavirus cases rise, as more Americans on cruise confirmed ill

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's NHC; Note: China refers to mainland China and the Diamond Princess is the cruise ship offshore Yokohama, Japan. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

A U.S. public health official confirms more than 40 Americans on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan have coronavirus, while the remaining U.S. citizens without symptoms are being evacuated.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 1,770 people and infected almost 70,000 others. Most cases and all but five of the deaths have occurred in mainland China. Taiwan confirmed its first death on Sunday, per multiple reports, in a 61-year-old man with underlying health conditions. Health officials were investigating how he became ill.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 2 hours ago - Health
Sara Fischer, Jonathan Swan

Scoop: Inside the Trump campaign's big hedge on Facebook

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

The Trump campaign has invested most of its advertising budget to date on Facebook, testing thousands of versions of ads per day to maximize its spending.

But behind the scenes, a source familiar with the campaign tells Axios, the thinking has shifted: "As everyone can see, we still have strong spending on Facebook, but the percentage of our total media budget [on Facebook] is shrinking."

Go deeperArrow5 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Alayna Treene

Trump's revenge tour has the House in its sights

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Saul Loeb/Getty Contributor

In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections — buoyed by Republican control of both chambers — President Trump viewed campaigning for the House as a lower-tier priority and instead poured his energy into rallying for the Senate.

But after the GOP reckoning in 2018, and experiencing firsthand how damaging a Democratic-led House has been to him, Trump is now personally invested in helping Republicans regain the majority in November, several people familiar with his thinking tell Axios.

Go deeperArrow5 hours ago - Politics & Policy