VOA标准英语2009年-More Mixed Signals on US Economy

（单词翻译）

By Michael Bowman
Washington
27 October 2009

 
A "sold" sign in front of a home in Carmel, Indiana, 20 Oct 2009
The U.S. housing market is showing signs of improvement, but Americans have grown more pessimistic on the overall economy.

The consensus¹ view among economists² is that the worst recession of the post-World War II era is over, and the U.S. economy is expanding once again, albeit³ at a moderate pace. But expectations of an economic rebound⁴ have not dispelled⁵ gloom among American consumers, whose confidence in the nation's economy fell unexpectedly this month.

The New York-based Conference Board reports that its closely-watched Consumer Confidence Index fell to 47.7 after posting a 53.4 reading in September. The October figure was the second-lowest since May. Although both numbers are well above an all-time low reading of 25 recorded in February, they fall significantly short of 90, a mark which would signal robust⁶ consumer confidence.

Lynn Franco directs consumer research at the Conference Board.

"Consumers are growing a little more negative on what is going to happen in the economy, in the labor⁷ market, and with their earnings," said Franco.

Although U.S. stock markets have rallied over the last six months and numerous economic indicators⁹ have shown signs of stabilization¹⁰, U.S. unemployment has continued to rise, and now stands at 9.8 percent. Most economists believe it will go even higher in coming months even if the U.S. economy records positive economic growth in the final months of the year. The federal government will be releasing U.S. gross domestic product data in coming days.

Consumer confidence constitutes a key indicator⁸ of economic performance, as consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Meanwhile, a private study of U.S. real estate transactions shows housing prices rose in August for the third month in a row.

Maureen Maitland is a vice¹¹ president at Standard and Poor's, which helped produce the study.

"The 10 and 20-city indexes both rose over the month [of August], so we have seen some real, steady increases in a lot of these numbers. And it has been very, very broad-based across most of the [real estate] markets," she said.

U.S. housing prices have been on a roller-coaster ride for much of the decade, spiking¹² to record highs from 2003 to 2006 and then plunging¹³ from 2007 until a few months ago.

A rebound in the beleaguered¹⁴ housing market is seen as vital to an economic recovery.