Despite suffering episodic bouts of volatility centered on politics and policy, two pillars continue to support the economy and markets: central banks and the U.S. consumer. With regards to the latter, although U.S. households never quite regained the housing-induced elation of the aught years, consumption continues to support not just the U.S. economy, but the global one as well. I last wrote about the consumer in October. At the time, I suggested that a combination of solid real-income growth, rising wealth and lower interest rates would continue to support consumption. The most recent data supports this narrative. ... (full story)