Feelin’ all right: Consumer sentiment rose this month to the highest level since January, suggesting that spending will strengthen this year, The Associated Press reports. The University of Michigan says its consumer sentiment index rose to 96.1 this month from 90.7 in May. The June reading was the highest since January’s 98.1. The index is up from 82.5 a year ago. For the first six months of 2015, consumer optimism improved at the fastest pace since 2004, three years before the Great Recession, said Richard Curtin, chief economist for the Michigan survey. Read the full story.
Conflicting reports: The numerous pipeline projects already in the works are more than sufficient to handle the increased natural gas demands in the U.S., with a federal push to limit carbon emissions, according to a new report from the Advanced Energy Economy Institute that urges for more clean power solutions. As FuelFix.com reports, the new report attempts to counter claims by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. and other stakeholders that contend the nation’s increasing reliance on cheap natural gas for electricity will require more pipeline and power generation capacity. Read the full story.
Unsatisfied customers: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday released thousands of complaints from disgruntled customers of banks, credit card companies and other providers of financial services. The Associated Press reports the bureau posted a database of the grievances on its website over vehement protests from the financial industry. The database contains 7,700 complaints filed online by people who agreed to air their complaints publicly. The database represents a small fraction of the 627,000 total complaints the bureau has received in the four years it has been operating. Read the full story.
