Yes, I do… I think people put entirely too much credence on stock prices as an indicator of economic health. Also since so many people own such investments, they freak out when values drop and vice versa.
So my bet is that consumer confidence is heavily influenced by stock prices, ie that there is a causal relationship. I doubt you would spot the lag on a multi-year chart like that, but I’ll bet that if you could look closely you would indeed see that confidence trails stock prices. Anyone know of a chart that could confirm/deny my suspicion?
