Economic News

Consumers were more confident about the U.S. economy in May, according to the New York-based Conference Board, which said its closely watched index of consumer confidence climbed more than 14 points to 54.9 from a revised 40.8 in April.

The jump in consumer confidence reported Tuesday far exceeded analysts’ expectations for a reading of 42.6 in May, according to Bloomberg LP, and puts the index at its highest level in eight months.

Expectations for the economy over the coming six months, considered a leading indicator for consumer spending, rose sharply to 72.3 in May from 51 in April.

“Consumers and firms may have judged that the worst is indeed behind us,” said Joseph Brusuelas, director of Moody’s Economy.com Inc.

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The 90th annual National Restaurant Association Show will kick off Saturday at McCormick Place with fewer exhibitors and lower attendance expected than in past years.

Though thousands of exhibitors are scheduled to attend the convention, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau acknowledged that this year’s gathering will be smaller than in 2008.

“Like many of our conventions that are coming in, [exhibitors] are sending fewer exhibit personnel, and attendees may be attending for fewer days,” bureau spokeswoman Meghan Risch said.

Convention participants corroborated Risch’s assessment Thursday as preparations got under way for the four-day event.

Commercial food-equipment manufacturer Hobart LP, a perennial attendant, did not downsize its booth but did bring less equipment and fewer employees in response to economic pressures, said trade marketing manager Joyce Grooms, who has managed Hobart’s exhibit for eight years.

“I scaled back about 40 percent [on equipment] over last year” to minimize transportation costs, Grooms said.

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It’s lunchtime on a typical weekday and Reckless Records downtown is packed. Dave Richardson, a 26-year-old legal clerk, has stopped in on his break to shop for LPs, those 12-inch, non-biodegradable vinyl discs that have been made obsolete many times over, most recently by MP3s.

Why would anybody pay for vinyl when there’s so much free digital music on the Internet? Why opt for a format that hardly fits in a backpack when the iPod can put up to 20,000 songs in a back pocket?

“I like the idea of owning a piece of physical media,” Richardson said.

He isn’t alone. Despite the MP3 takeover of the music industry, more and more audiophiles are turning to vinyl for an old-fashioned listening experience. And after 19 years in business in Chicago, British-owned Reckless Records of London Inc. is reaping the benefits.

The company’s three locations—-Lakeview, Wicker Park and the Loop—-sold 136,000 LPs in 2008, up about 38,000 from the year before. Despite declining CD revenue, Reckless’s total sales climbed to $4.2 million last year from $3.8 million in 2007. The uptick will allow the company to move its Lakeview store to a bigger location at the end of May.

To Reckless general manager Bryan Smith, vinyl’s resurgence comes down to consumer desire for a hands-on listening experience.

“People are rediscovering the artifact of music, being able to hold the physical product,” Smith said. “They like the mobility of the MP3, [but] it doesn’t give you a physical relationship with bands.”

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With Chicago hotels operating at less than half capacity, air travel down and business conventions being canceled, state and city travel officials held a rally Tuesday at Navy Pier for the embattled tourism industry.

A crowd of about 150 gathered on the Lakeview Rooftop Terrace to hear officials sing the praises of tourism industry employees and announce initiatives designed to jumpstart travel.

“We want to leverage Chicago’s reputation as a city that means business” to combat the “erosion” of convention attendance, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Roby said. The bureau is launching an Internet advertising campaign on May 18 geared toward luring business travelers to the city and encouraging local businesses to “keep their business here,” he said.

The city’s convention and tourism bureau, along with the Chicago Office of Tourism and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, hosted the rally in conjunction with the 26th annual National Travel and Tourism Week. More than 35 cities across the country also held rallies.

Director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism Jan Kostner emphasized “budget-friendly” travel options and cited increased inquiries on the bureau’s Web site during the last year as evidence that “people still want to travel.”

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I think we’re going to start moving in the right direction. I don’t think it’s going to go from zero to 100.”

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