The December Credit Managers’ Index was released today by the National Association of Credit Management and it showed a 7-month high reading of 54.4. The reading is the highest since May 2011 but is lower than a year earlier when the December 2010 CMI reached 55.8 for the month.
It appears that most of the optimism in retail was accurate. The problem is that the manufacturing side was not so upbeat. That is not very unusual for this time of year as manufacturers do not generally see big gains in the fourth quarter.
The service side of the economy is another story, especially that part connected to the consumer and the holiday season. QUOTATION: “In general, the combined level of sales started to grow again and jumped back above 60 after having fallen to 58.2 in November. The other piece of good news was that dollar collections gained considerably, from 56.9 to 61.4. This kind of gain is often seen this time of year as retailers have more cash to work with and many companies are trying to get their books in order.”
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