WSJ: Richer Americans Gain Confidence In U.S. Economy

[question everything]

Richer Americans Gain Confidence In U.S. Economy

By LYNN COWAN
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
January 25, 2005; Page D2

(snip)

The survey, which polled 400 wealthy people from Dec. 18 to Jan. 7, showed that respondents plan to increase their spending and investing levels over the next quarter, with 30% saying they would put more money in the stock market over the next three months.

The McDonald Financial Group Affluent Consumer Confidence Index surveys randomly selected individuals with investable assets of $500,000 or more, or personal annual income of $150,000 or more. The poll was conducted by independent research firm Penn, Schoen & Berland. The margin of error among the national audience is plus or minus 4.9%. McDonald Financial Group is a unit of Cleveland-based KeyCorp.

(snip)

Thirty percent of affluent Americans polled said they would put more money in the stock market over the next three months, up 12 percentage points from the 18% who said so last quarter, and tied with the record level in the survey, in October 2003.

(snip)


The survey also showed a high level of concern about the national deficit, with 70% of respondents saying they are "very" or "somewhat concerned," and 57% saying they think that the national deficit will have a negative impact on the economy over the next year.

(snip)

Write to Lynn Cowan at [e-mail]

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110661133465934653,00.html