LESS CONFIDENCE BUT MORE CONSUMER SPENDING?

Today’s numbers provide a monthly breakdown of the quarterly data released yesterday by the Commerce Department that showed the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter at the fastest pace in a year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate, up from 1.3 percent in the prior three months.
Household purchases, the biggest part of the economy, rose at a 2.4 percent pace, contributing 1.7 percentage points to growth.

Less Confidence  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/consumer-spending-in-u-s-rose-0-6-in-september-as-incomes-increased-0-1-.html

Purchases are climbing even as confidence sinks. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 51.1 in the week ended Oct. 23, the lowest in a month, from minus 48.4 the prior period. Ninety-five percent of those surveyed had a negative opinion about the economy, the worst since April 2009 and one percentage point shy of a record high.