Houston consumers have been "nesting" for a while and people are restaurant- and entertainment-starved. Troy Sharpe of Oak Harvest Financial Group says things are opening up and optimism is rising. "Consumer confidence right now is lower than in 2008 and that is a direct result of 30 million Americans losing their jobs. But - the number of people who expect the economy to improve in the next few months has risen from 14% in March to 40% in April."
If all goes well during the Phase One Re-Opening, and the Coronavirus numbers don't explode, Sharpe says the stock market will rise and the economy will follow. If not, the economy will have to be shut down again and we're in for a long summer. But, he repeats, if all goes well during the Phase One," I think it will be sustainable"
Stores and restaurants and now salons can re-open. But will shopping and entertainment-starved people bring enough business to sustain our economy. Troy Sharpe of Oak Harvest Financial Group is optimistic. "I think the stock market is looking for either a) a vaccine that becomes available, or b) a treatment that shows success, or c) the re-opening of the economy in various states going to be sustainable. If one of those things happens the market will continue to rise and the economy will follow. "
"We think there's a good chance that consumer confidence will continue to improve and as long as we don't get an up-tic in the number of infections, hopefully we're on a positive trend moving forward."
You can hear Troy Sharpe every weekend on newsradio 740 KTRH.
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