A breakout of better feelings about the economic situation is underway this summer. Driving the news: The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index jumped to 117 in July, up from 110.1 in June. That marks the highest level in two years and follows a similarly big surge from last month. • In particular, the firm's index of consumer expectations rose comfortably above the levels that tend to suggest a recession is imminent. • The share of survey respondents who said jobs are "plentiful" rose to 46.9% from 45.4%, while the number who said jobs are "hard to get" plunged to 9.7% from 12.6%. • Other ... (full story)