1.   At this point, the confident consumer is the only thing standing between us and a full-blown recession.

2.   Confident consumers are spending, and demand for American goods is strong, not only at home, but increasingly abroad, except for Asia.

3.   If confident consumers keep driving growth higher, however, that attitude could quickly change, Sohn said.

4.   The higher stock prices rise, the more confident consumers will be and the more they will spend.

5.   Whether consumers could carry the economy until corporations regained their footing elicited some debate, but economists first questioned just how confident consumers truly felt.

6.   Given that consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, economists are hopeful that confident consumers will keep shopping and keep the economy afloat.

7.   Housing construction sprinted ahead in January to the highest level in a year, suggesting that rising mortgage rates have yet to sideline confident consumers, economists said.

8.   The Dow also suffered from the latest sign that less confident consumers are buying fewer computers.