Consumer confidence hits six-month low. Wall Street bonuses up 17 percent.

Consumer confidence fell sharply in February, according to the Conference Board. But Wall Street bonuses are up.

A shopper passed by an advertisement last week at NewPark Mall in Newark, Calif. A monthly poll Feb. 23 shows consumers' confidence took a surprisingly sharp fall in February amid rising job worries.

Paul Sakuma/AP/File

February 23, 2010

I find it delightfully ironic that both of these headlines came out within 24 hours of each other. 100 years from now, economists will still be trying to make heads or tails of this dichotomy.

CNN Money - February 24, 2009: 10:27 AM ET Consumer confidence plummets

Wall Street Journal - FEBRUARY 23, 2010, 9:32 A.M. ET Wall Street Bonuses Rise 17%

John Edwards may be a lightweight, populist-baiting adulterer, but he may have been onto something with his "Two Americas" thing...

This is what happens to an economy when the senior figures in charge of the money decide to stimulate banks and treat small businesses as an afterthought. Partisans can say whatever they want, the data is the data.

With a recoveries like these, who needs recessions?

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