Whirlpool Shares Good News

Whirlpool is considered by many to be a bellwether of consumer demand, with discretionary items such as Maytag and KitchenAid appliances.

Jeff Fetting, the Whirlpool CEO, said new home construction is "on its way to recovery and it is clearly creating new appliance demand." He does, however, see weakness in discretionary spending, which he sees as driven by consumer confidence.

 

"We're coming off low levels and we have a long way to go before we come to what we consider to be a norm," he said.