Posted on 09/29/2026 8:50:59 AM PDT by kvanbrunt2
Consumer confidence plunged in September, falling well below expectations as investors face a wave of headwinds.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 81.9 from the previous month's reading of 88.6, which was revised down from 89.4, per Conference Board data published Tuesday. Economists had been looking for a sharply higher reading of 89.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 81.9 from the previous month's reading of 88.6, which was revised down from 89.4, per Conference Board data published Tuesday. Economists had been looking for a sharply higher reading of 89.
President Trump commented today that everyone’s 401K has doubled “thanks to me.”
How do they measure this? Something like a pH strip for swimming pools but inserted into the rectum?
Constant doom and gloom from the MSM and democrat policitians, all of it untrue.
Constant doom and gloom from the MSM and democrat policitians, all of it untrue.
Personally, I'm seeing prices that are not that much higher than last year. With my discount app, I can buy gas 20 to 35 cents below average. I bought at $3.35 the other night.
Eggs and milk are down at least a dollar from last year, and other staples are a mixed bag. Consumers are consuming, so I'm not sure if they believe what they say they do.
> Economists had been looking for a sharply higher reading of 89. <
Kinda makes you wonder if it’s worth listening to them at all.
🤔
Focus groups. Very focused.
Yep. Perception is reality with weakminded individuals. The news tells them the sky is falling , they beleive. Lets ignore inflation is only 3.4%, the job market is strong and folks are still buying stuff but…. Gas is 4.00!!! we’re all going to die.
Gas is over $6 here.
I don’t know anyone who believes the current rate of inflation is only 3.4%. The rising rates for U.S. Treasury bonds are an indicator that smart people in the world of finance aren’t accepting that number at face value.
Must have been one of those twit posts.
From AI:
“The Conference Board measures Consumer Confidence through a monthly online survey of approximately 5,000 U.S. households conducted by the technology company Toluna. The resulting Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is calculated based on responses to five specific questions divided into two components:
Present Situation Index: Assesses respondents’ appraisal of current business conditions and current employment conditions.
Expectations Index: Gauges expectations for business conditions, employment, and family income over the next six months.
To calculate the index, the Conference Board determines the “relative value” for each question by dividing the percentage of positive responses by the sum of positive and negative responses. These values are then compared to 1985 benchmark values (where 1985 = 100) to derive individual index values, which are averaged to produce the final Consumer Confidence Index. The index is released monthly at 10 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of the month. “
In other words, its a poll. Personally I always lie to surveys and polls.
> I don’t know anyone who believes the current rate of inflation is only 3.4%. <
Agreed. The trick is in how the rate of inflation is calculated. For example, the calculation for “core inflation” usually excludes food and energy.
So pick the right basket of goods, and you can get pretty much any number you want.
The "smart people" in the world of finance might also be trying to influence the markets to fight against changing the current leviathan system from which many of them profit so greatly at the expense of our nation and our people.
yep, exactly what I have encountered over the last month.
People are mad, Democrats disgust them, but currently Republicans are the ones in power and will thus be blamed.
Well it is not 5,6,7,8,9 percent so I guess thats the point. Whatever the “real” number Im not sure why folks don’t look at things in relative terms.
Right — and to be fair, inflation rates vary widely from one household to another based on what their major expenses are at any given time. I just don’t know anyone who would tell me that their overall living costs are only 3.4% higher now than last year at this time.
Would YOU lend money to the U.S. government for 3.4%? I sure wouldn’t.
If you calculate prices the way the government itself did before 1980, the year-over-year inflation rate is 11.4 percent. John Williams, ShadowStats.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.