The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined in March, increased in April. The Index now stands at 68.1 (1985=100), up from 61.9 in March. The Present Situation Index increased to 60.4 from 59.2. The Expectations Index improved to 73.3 from 63.7 last month. The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was April 18. Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The ... (full story)