Spring turns to summer in America, and once again, the mown-grass scent of economic optimism is in the air. An 11 per cent annual rise in house prices and a boom in the stock market does that to people. Higher asset prices are not much good by themselves – growth in incomes, jobs and activity is plodding – but markets seem to be sustaining the economy through the worst of tax rises and government spending cuts. Consumer confidence has not been this high for five years.
美國由春入夏,再一次地,空氣中彌漫的經(jīng)濟樂觀情緒如同修整過的草地般芬芳。住房價格同比高達11%的漲幅以及股票市場的牛市行情確實會對人們產(chǎn)生這種影響。資產(chǎn)價格上漲就其自身而言并沒有太大益處——居民收入增長、就業(yè)以及經(jīng)濟活動仍然低迷——但市場似乎正在支撐經(jīng)濟渡過有史以來最為嚴峻的增稅以及政府支出縮減時期。消費者信心在近五年都沒有像現(xiàn)在這樣高漲過。