Americans have never been this conflicted about the economy's direction

The partisan splitin opinions on the US economy underPresident-elect Donald Trumphas never been this wide.Various surveys of consumer and business confidencehave shown decisive improvement in sentiment since the election.Both groups are looking forward to tax cuts, andbusinesses anticipate a lighter regulatory burden.But Republicans are a lotmore excited than Democrats, according to the University of Michigan. Its preliminary consumer sentiment index for January was largely unchanged at 98.1, according to a report on Friday.Economists had forecast that the index would rise to 98.5, the highest level since 2000.According to the survey, the average of positive and negative references to government policies rose to a record high of 44% in early January. That's more than double the average of 20% during the last six of President Barack Obama's eight years in office."The post-election surge in optimism was accompanied by an unprecedented degree of both positive and negative concerns about the incoming administration spontaneously mentioned when asked about economic news," said Richard Curtin, chief economist of the surveys of consumers.The index that gauges expectations had a "stunning" 43-point gap in early January. "Needless to say, these extreme differences would imply either strong growth or a recession," Curtin said. "Since neither is likely, one would anticipate that both extreme views will be tempered in the months ahead."SEE ALSO:Retail sales jump in December on strong car and online shoppingJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decided to raise rates
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