U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 14-month high in April as increased vaccinations against COVID-19 and additional fiscal stimulus allowed for more services businesses to reopen, boosting demand and hiring by companies. The upbeat survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday, which also showed a strong increase in vacation plans, suggested the economy continued to power ahead early in the second quarter after what appears to have been robust growth in the first three months of the year, believed by many economists to have been the second strongest since 2003. Growth this year is expected to be the best in nearly four decades. “Consumers are seeing the light at the end of the COVID tunnel,” said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio. “Led by strong spending as households return to eating out, traveling and visiting stores, the economy should surge ahead starting the second quarter and […]