AP poll shows small glimmers of hope on economy

The public seems to be showing a faint glimmer of hope about the foundering financial and real estate markets.

Fifty-one percent say this is a bad time to invest in the stock market, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. That's a modest but noticeable 7 percentage points fewer than the number who said that last month.

At the same time, 38 percent say this would be the wrong time to invest in real estate, down from 43 percent who said so in October.

Despite those signals of slightly decreased pessimism, the survey shows the public remains deeply concerned about the economy. About eight in 10 said improving the economy and job creation should be top priorities for President-elect Obama when he takes office in January, while six in 10 said the same about stabilizing the country's financial markets.

Stock markets and real estate values have plunged in recent months as a financial crisis has thrust the U.S. and world economies toward deep recessions. The federal government has committed hundreds of billions of dollars to bailing out major financial firms, and Democrats are pressuring President Bush to spend some of the money to help the ailing auto industry as well.

About eight in 10 said they worried the government's growing debt will hurt their children and grandchildren, about the same number who said so last month. There was a small drop in the number saying they were very worried.

The AP-GfK poll was conducted Nov. 6-10 and involved cell and landline telephone interviews with 1,001 adults. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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On the Net:

AP-GfK Poll: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com