US consumer confidence rises

US consumer confidence continued to rise in December. Bloomberg reports on Tuesday:

Confidence among U.S. consumers improved in December for a second month as Americans grew less concerned about the immediate future, pointing to an economy that will keep expanding into 2010.

The Conference Board’s sentiment index increased to 52.9 in December, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, according to figures from the New York-based research group today...

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 0.4 percent in October from the prior month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the group said today. The gauge was down 7.3 percent from October 2008, the smallest year-over-year decline since October 2007.

Confidence is also returning in Europe. From Bloomberg:

Italian business confidence rose to the highest in 18 months in December on expectations by manufacturers that growing exports will boost the economy’s recovery from the worst recession since World War II.

The Isae Institute’s manufacturing sentiment index climbed to 82.6, the highest since June 2008, from a revised 79.4 in November, the Rome-based research center Isae said today. That compared with a median forecast of 79.7 in a Bloomberg News survey of 8 economists...

The rise in confidence in Italy mirrored gains in optimism in Europe’s largest economy. Business confidence in Germany increased to the highest level in 17 months in December as the global recovery supported exports and manufacturing growth, the Munich-based Ifo institute said on Dec. 18.

French business confidence fell in December for the first time in nine months on concern that fading government-stimulus measures may slow the economy’s recovery from its worst slump in six decades, Paris-based statistics office Insee said last week.

However, with a recovering economy, inflation is also returning. Again from Bloomberg:

German consumer prices posted their highest annual gain in eight months in December after energy costs increased.

The inflation rate, calculated using a harmonized European Union method, rose to 0.8 percent from 0.3 percent in November, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. That’s the highest level since April. Economists predicted prices would increase an annual 0.7 percent, according to the median of 19 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. From the previous month, prices rose 0.9 percent.