The New York-based Conference Board announced Tuesday its Consumer Confidence index rose to 54.1 from an upwardly revised 47.4 in July. Economists were caught flat footed as they had predicted a much more moderate rise to 47.5. This rise indicates that consumers are more bullish on the state of the economy than at any other point since the recession began. That being said, the minimum level associated with a healthy economy is 90 so we still have a lot of ground to make up.