Last Friday, as much of America was settling in for the coldest weekend of the year, the University of Michigan released its preliminary January reading on consumer sentiment.  The numbers were a pleasant surprise – the consumer sentiment index jumped 9.1 points to a reading of 78.8 – the best number seen since July 2021.  This confirmed other signs of a thaw in the public mood.  The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose 9.1 points in December to its second highest reading in two years while even the perennially negative Gallup survey on “satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S.”, showed some improvement in December.