Australia consumer confidence up slightly in May

From ninemsn.com.au

Consumer confidence has posted a modest rise after the central bank provided a large cut to the cash rate on May 1. The Westpac/Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index rose by 0.8 per cent to 95.3 index points in May, up from 94.5 in April. Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said he had hoped for a larger increase, given the Reserve Bank of Australia's cut of 50 basis points - which brought the official rate to 3.75 per cent - and encouraging news on domestic employment. "Other factors appear to have offset these positives," he said. "Firstly there might have been a degree of ... (full story)