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FORTUNE.COM // NOVEMBER 2019
CONFIDENCE
LOOK TO YOUR LEFT and your right
and then answer this question:
What’s the mood of the people around you?
For the sake of everyone’s jobs, incomes, retire-
ment funds, homes, and much else, we’d better
hope the mood stays upbeat. Much more than
usual, the consumer’s sunny disposition is propel-
ling the U.S. economy’s growth. But the latest re-
search suggests a mood swing may be underway.
In their shopping, consumers are blithely
ignoring the daily articles about the latest signs of
Anatomy of
an American
Spender
Even after the punishment dealt by the financial
crisis, the fortitude of U.S. consumers has been a
driver for economic growth. Can it last? By Geoff Colvin
UNTITLED X-RAY/GETTY IMAGES
