With the FTSE 100 having recently hit a record high, the question arises: should we spend some of our profits? Certainly, history suggests there is a link between stock market movements and consumer spending. There has been a positive correlation between real annual total returns on the All-Share index and changes in real consumer spending in the following 12 months, of 0.24 since 1987. On average, 10 percentage point above-average equity returns lead to consumer spending growth being 0.3 percentage points above average.
(Not) spending our gains

Economic Indicators
The borrowing slowdown
The growth in household borrowing is slowing down. This is probably nothing to worry about
Chris Dillow