Consumer Comfort Index Jumps

Last week's consumer sentiment report showed a big uptick at mid-month as does the consumer comfort index for the October 15 week which jumped a sizable 1.6 points to 51.1. Both the sentiment and comfort indexes had been ebbing off long-term highs before popping back this month. Full employment, the rally in the stock market, and solid home-price appreciation are all pluses for confidence measures.