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    December 27, 2011

US Consumer Confidence Rises

   VOA News
   A worker sits atop some ironwork at the construction site of a new
   store at the Harvard Park Shopping Center in Warrensville Hts.,
   December 7, 2011
   Photo: AP
   A worker sits atop some ironwork at the construction site of a new
   store at the Harvard Park Shopping Center in Warrensville Hts.,
   December 7, 2011

   U.S. consumer confidence hit its highest level in eight months in
   December, perhaps due to an improving job market.
   Tuesday's data comes from the Conference Board, a private research
   group in New York.
   Experts watch consumer confidence for clues about the consumer spending
   that drives most U.S. economic activity.
   A separate report Tuesday shows the U.S. home prices fell in most major
   cities for the second straight month.
   Weak job growth, tighter lending standards, and worries that home
   prices may fall further are deterring some prospective home buyers. The
   U.S. central bank has had only limited success in boosting home sales
   with record low interest rates.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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