US economic recovery "is very near" - The Conference Board

US Leading Economic Index increased 0.6% in Aug-2009, following a 0.9% gain in Jul-2009 and a 0.8% rise in Jun-2009, according to The Conference Board.

The Conference Board: "Since reaching a peak in July 2007, the LEI fell for 20 months - the longest downtrend since the mid 1970s - but it has been rising since April and its gains have become very widespread...The LEI has risen for five consecutive months and the coincident economic index has stopped falling. Taken together, this suggests that the recession is bottoming out. These numbers are consistent with the view that after a very severe downturn, a recovery is very near. But, the intensity and pattern of that recovery is more uncertain", Ataman Ozyildirim & Ken Goldstein, Economists. Source: The Conference Board, 21-Sep-2009.