mostly the fed trying to figure out how much better can it get? because it looks like we may have a long run without inflation and can see how good we can make things for the american worker. consumer confidence is a feeling but it s not necessarily a fact. do people have that much more money or do they just feel like they do? because just because they re spending doesn t moon they should be. the issue is the difference between consumer attitudes and action. right? what s the real behavior versus the beliefs? at the moment they seem to believe things are good. most americans probably aren t invested in the stock market so, for example, last year the market was very volatile at the end of the year. we had the government shutdown at the end of the year and hurt consumer confidence and psyche and caused people to pull back. this year people feel confident about the economy, about their prospects and to the point brendan was making, they re still apparently slacking in the