Greater optimism about income growth and future spending pushed U.S. consumer sentiment to a fresh 7-year high in November, AP reported. The University of Michigan said Wednesday that its index of consumer sentiment rose to 88.8 in November from 86.9 in October. That's the highest since July 2007, five months before the Great Recession began. The report adds to a mixed picture of U.S. consumers heading into the holiday shopping season. A separate measure of consumer confidence, released Tuesday by the Conference Board, fell sharply after reaching its own 7-year high last month. And Americans are spending at a sluggish pace despite a pickup in job creation this year. Consumers are more optimistic that their incomes will increase, the Michigan survey found, but their expectations are modest: Respondents expect their incomes will increase 1.1 percent over the next 12 months. That's the most in six years, though still not enough to keep up with inflation. -- SPA 19:51 LOCAL TIME 16:51 GMT تغريد