HUFFPOLLSTER: Americans’ Economic Outlook Continues To Rise

Good news about gas prices leads an improving economic outlook. Only a third of Americans consider Brian Williams trustworthy. And a majority says the measles now pose a bigger threat to Americans than Ebola did last year. This is HuffPollster for Wednesday, February 11, 2015.

VIEWS OF ECONOMY GROW MORE POSITIVE – Pew Research: “For the first time since the end of the recession in 2009, a greater share of the public is hearing mostly good news (28%) than bad news (22%) about the job situation. Nearly half (47%) say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news. This marks a stark change from a year ago, when just 12% said they were hearing mostly good news about jobs, while more than three times as many (42%) had negative perceptions; 44% described the news as mixed…A new survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Feb. 5–8 among 1,003 adults, shows that views of news about the overall economy also have become more positive, although a majority (62%) continues to describe the news as mixed. For the first time since the Pew Research Center began tracking this question in December 2008, about as many are hearing mostly good news (18%) as bad news (17%) about the economy. In previous surveys, negative views had consistently surpassed positive impressions.” [Pew]

Views most positive on gas prices – More from Pew Research: “While positive perceptions of news about gas prices have more than quadrupled in the past year (from 14% to 62%), views of news about other sectors – food and consumer prices, real estate values and the stock market – have shown less change. Notably, perceptions of news about food and consumer prices remain far more negative (36%) than positive (14%), with 44% describing it as mixed. A year ago, 43% said news about food and consumer prices was mostly bad, 9% said it was mostly good and 41% called it mixed.”

-A PPP (D) poll for a Democratic client finds Kamala Harris leading the rest of the California Senate primary field. [The Hill]

-Fifty-nine percent of Pennsylvania voters think Penn State should restore its Joe Paterno statue to a place of prominence. [Quinnipiac]

The Huffington Post