WASHINGTON (06/11) - MarketWatch -- The Conference Board's leading
economic index grew 0.7% for the second month in a row in September. 'The
September LEI suggests the economy was expanding modestly and possibly
gaining momentum before the government shutdown,' said Ken Goldstein,
economist at The Conference Board, in a statement.'Beyond the
immediate fallout of the shutdown, the biggest challenge is whether
relatively weak consumer demand, pinned down by weak wage growth and low
levels of confidence, will recover during the final stretch of 2013 and
into 2014.'
