U.S. consumer confidence rebounds in April

As Wall Street rallied and economic stimulus projects began to take shape, confidence among American consumers jumped in April. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 39.2. That’s up from 26.9 in March, representing the largest jump since last summer.

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The baseline reading of 100 was set when surveying began in 1985. The Conference Board is a New York-based nonprofit that makes economic forecasts and assesses trends in the global marketplace.

Consumers’ short-term outlook improved significantly in April. Those anticipating business conditions will worsen over the next six months declined from 37.8 percent to 25.3 percent, while those expecting conditions to improve increased from 9.6 percent to 15.6 percent. The Present Situation Index increased from 21.9 to 23.7. The Expectations Index rose from 30.2 to 49.5.

The employment outlook also was considerably less pessimistic in April. The percentage of consumers anticipating fewer jobs in the months ahead decreased from 41.6 percent to 33.6 percent, while those expecting more jobs increased from 7.3 percent to 13.9 percent.

Japanese travel to Hawaii is a bright spot

In March, the number of visitors to Hawaii from Japan rose slightly to 102,699 – the tourism industry’s single bright spot, as the number of visitors overall dropped 16.6 percent from March 2008. The number of Japanese honeymooners jumped 22 percent and the number of Japanese wedding rose 11 percent.

Hawaii tourism officials attributed the increase to discount vacation packages and to the reduction in fuel surcharges for air travelers from Japan to $40 a person from a peak of $440 per traveler. The surcharge is scheduled to be eliminated entirely in July, which should encourage more Japanese tourism.

U.S. economy shrinks by 6.1% in first quarter

Despite the positive consumer confidence news, the U.S economy shrank at a greater-than-expected 6.1 percent during the first quarter of 2009, the second-consecutive quarter with a decline of more than 6 percent as the nation remains firmly in the grasp of the global recession.

The current quarter coupled with the 6.3 percent decline in fourth-quarter 2008 — the biggest drop in 25 years — created the worst economy over a six-month period in 50 years, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.