The business group’s consumer confidence index rose to 114.8 from a revised 108 in December. The present situation Index – a measure of current business and labor market conditions – surged to 161.3 from 147.2 last month. And it comes as the Federal Reserve is meeting in Washington to set interest rate policy, with economists forecasting the central bank will hold interest rates steady. But, he adds, “The Fed’s not going to change” at its first meeting of 2024 that began on Tuesday and do anything other than hold interest rates steady for the fourth meeting in a row. The index often leads other consumer sentiment surveys by two to three months, says Legal Shield CEO Warren Schlichting.

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Persons: ”, Dana Peterson, Stephen Rich, Melissa Brown, Jerome Powell, Gene Goldman, Warren Schlichting, Schlichting, it’s Organizations: Conference, Mutual of America Capital Management, Federal Reserve, Investment Management, “, Labor Department, ADP Locations: U.S, Washington