By Pressmaster @Shutterstock
Super Saturday logged the highest level of sales in US retail history writes Kevin Downs of the New York Post (abridged):
Democrats have been warning of a recession, but evidence that the economy remains strong keeps growing.
The latest: Super Saturday — or Panic Saturday, as shoppers think of the Saturday before Christmas — logged the highest level of sales in US retail history.
American consumers spent $34.4 billion on Dec. 21, a phenomenal figure that exceeded expectations and easily broke last year’s Super Saturday record of $31.9 billion. Between Nov. 1 and Christmas Eve, retail sales grew 3.4% over that time last year.
The markets, too, continued to hit record highs before and after the holiday. Unemployment, at 3.5%, remains at a 50-year low; the number of Americans filing for unemployment fell for a second straight week before the holiday. And weekly wages are increasing faster than inflation, putting more money in workers’ pockets. […]
What’s behind it all? For starters, Team Trump deregulation, the 2017 corporate tax cuts, passage of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and news of a Phase 1 deal with China.
And it’s driving a 20-year high in consumer confidence: A CNN poll just found that 76% of Americans rate the country’s economy very or somewhat good, up from 67% this time last year. Better numbers haven’t been seen since 2001.
Plus, with consumer spending fueling 70% of GDP, the country’s mood as 2019 closes suggests a good 2020 as well.
