(A shopper leaves the Gap with a bag in New York City. (Photo: REUTERS)
A gauge of consumer sentiment from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan rose to 90.7 in May, beating Wall Street expectations of 89.9. However, at the markets, there are no celebrations over the news.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter by 0.7 percent, down from the initially estimated gain of an abysmal 0.2 percent.
Further, the Chicago Business Barometer not only showed Midwest manufacturing contracted again in May, erasing any hope that April’s gains would be sustainable, but also all five components dropped by more than 10 percent into contraction territory.
