UK Consumer Confidence expanded for a second consecutive month in May, according to Nationwide. The metric printed at 53 in May after a revised 51 result in April, the first print above the 50 “boom-bust” level since December 2008. The details of the survey revealed that 57% of respondents expect jobs to remain scarce and only 28% see the economy turning worse six months from now, the lowest percentages since October of last year. Stock market gains and moderating house-price losses likely accounted for the improvement in consumer sentiment: the benchmark FTSE 100 index has added over 30% since early March while house prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in May.