I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The consumer confidence index, measured and released monthly by the University of Michigan, jumped this month considerably higher than experts expected. The Detroit Free Press reports:
Confidence among U.S. consumers rose more than forecast in September as the pace of job losses slowed and the economy showed signs of pulling out of the recession.
The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment increased to 70.2 this month from 65.7 in August.
The index was forecast to rise to 67.5, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Americans are starting to grow more upbeat after suffering the biggest destruction of wealth on record from a slump in stocks and home prices. Consumers may still be wary of increasing the spending that makes up 70% of the economy as they focus on building savings and paying debt.
“We can be encouraged that consumer sentiment is healing,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse Holdings USA Inc. in New York. “Good news continues to come through; bad news continues to diminish. It’s better, but it’s not good yet.”
Consumer confidence can be very important because it indicates how likely consumers are to spend money rather than save it. If they believe the economy is getting better and their own financial prospects are improving, they are more likely to spend money, which in turn boosts the economy even more.
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