Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/14/2011 -- Dennis Tubbergen, financial advisor and CEO of USA Wealth Management, LLC, a federally registered investment advisory company. He updates his readers on such timely topics as the economy, unemployment, and the housing market in his financial blog and monthly newsletter Moving Markets™. Tubbergen predicted for all of 2010 the U.S. economy could not fully recover until our government’s escalating debt is under control. Now it seems many Americans doubt a recovery as well.

Tubbergen refers to the December 25th release of the latest Consumer Confidence Index® (with data collected through December 20, 2010) showing the index fell from 54.3 in November to 52.5 in December (the index has 1985 equal to 100% confidence). A spokesperson for the Conference Board claims due to the economy and the level of unemployment in the U.S., consumers remain “tepid” and “cautious” in their outlooks for the near future.

“The financial health of our citizens can be used to gauge the overall health of our economy,” concludes Tubbergen. “And right now, a large percentage of our citizens are not financially healthy.”

The above survey for December also had the following gloomy statistics: those anticipating fewer U.S. jobs in the coming months increased to 19.5% from 19.1% in November, and consumers expecting a pay increase dropped from 11.1% to 9.9%.

Tubbergen has also repeatedly linked the high unemployment rate with the poor housing market. According to PlanetMoney.com, a new twist was recently announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics – the bureau will now track unemployment for 5 years instead of 2 years. This is a dramatic increase of tracking such statistics. While the new system will not change the overall unemployment rate, the bureau stated the alteration was necessary because “the number of long-term unemployed kept growing.”

In November the number of those unemployed long term (27 weeks and longer) hit an average of 33.8 weeks of unemployment.

“The U.S. must face its economic realities, whatever they may be,” concludes Tubbergen.
“This is not the sign of a vibrant recovery.”

For more information on Dennis Tubbergen’s views, visit http://www.dennistubbergen.com. To view the latest issue of his newsletter, go to http://www.moving-markets.com

The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee.

Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.