Area Development
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 70.4 in February, an increase from 64.8 in January.

"The Consumer Confidence Index is now at a three-year high (Feb. 2008, 76.4) due to growing optimism about the short-term future. Consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions has improved moderately, but still remains rather weak. Looking ahead, consumers are more positive about the economy and their income prospects, but feel somewhat mixed about employment conditions," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

The number of respondents saying business conditions are good rose from 11.3 percent in January to 12.4 percent in February. Nearly 40 percent said business conditions are bad, which was virtually unchanged from January. Nearly 5 percent said jobs are plentiful, an increase from 4.6 percent in January. Those saying jobs are hard to get dropped to 45.7 percent from 47 percent in January.