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Consumer sentiment improved slightly in late April from earlier in the month but remained deeply depressed, weighed down by widespread concerns over inflation, tariffs, and a historic drop in confidence among Democrats. The University of Michigan’s final reading of its Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 52.2 in April, up from a preliminary estimate of 50.8 but down from 57.0 in March. It marked the fourth consecutive monthly decline and the lowest final reading since July 2022. The Expectations Index, which measures sentiment about the economy in the months ahead, fell to 47.3 in April, down from 52.6 in March. The...

U.S. consumer prices fell in March, pushed down by a decline in the price of goods and defying predictions that President Trump’s tariff plans would push up prices. This was the first drop in consumer prices in nearly three years and only the second decline since inflation accelerated under Joe Biden to the worst rates in decades. The consumer price index fell by 0.1 percent compared with the previous month after climbing each month since July 2022. Economists had forecast prices would rise by 0.1 percent. Core consumer prices, a measure that excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by...

Consumer sentiment fell sharply in March, with Democrats’ expectations for the economy hitting an all-time low, according to the University of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment survey, highlighting an unprecedented partisan divide in economic outlook. The survey’s headline index dropped to 57.9, down from 64.7 in February, reaching its lowest level since November 2022. While sentiment declined across income levels and age groups, Democrats saw the sharpest deterioration, with their expectations index plunging to 28.2—a level lower than during the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, or Donald Trump’s first term. By contrast, Republican expectations remained high at 95.7, marking a...

A consumer-activist group founded by John Schwarz has launched a grassroots campaign to halt spending online or instore and not use credit or debit cards for 24 hours on Friday, Feb. 28, in an attempt to disrupt the economic order and “take back control of our economy, government and future of our country,” reports CBSNews. KEY FACTS* The People’s Union boycott calls for no spending on fast food, gas or at major retailers – “No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy” – starting at midnight on Feb. 28. * Purchases deemed essential, i.e. food, medicine, emergency supplies, are permitted but...

U.S. consumer confidence slid sharply in February, posting its steepest decline since August 2021, as Americans grew increasingly concerned about rising prices, weakening job prospects, and the broader economic outlook. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 7 points to 98.3, marking its third consecutive monthly decline and falling below economists’ expectations. More troubling, the Expectations Index—a measure of consumers’ short-term outlook—dropped 9.3 points to 72.9, falling below the level historically associated with a looming recession for the first time since June 2024.

Inflation in the United States surged higher in January. The Department of Labor said Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.5 percent in January from the prior month, much more than expected. Compared with a year ago, consumer prices are up three percent. Economists had expected the monthly pace of inflation to decline to 0.3 percent after prices rose 0.4 percent in December. The median forecast called for a 2.9 percent gain over the past 12-months, matching the prior month’s year-over-year gain. Core inflation, a metric that excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.4 percent for...

The news for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and her favorite agency just got worse. NBC News on Saturday night obtained an email sent to CFPB employees in which Vought announced a dozen directives that would go into effect immediately. Here are the details from NBC: [Employees were instructed to “cease all supervision and examination activity,” “cease all stakeholder engagement,” pause all pending investigations, not issue any public communications and pause “enforcement actions.” Vought also told employees not to “approve or issue any proposed or final rules or formal or informal guidance” and to “suspend the effective dates of all final...

Recognizing that free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it, allow me to offer Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent some insight on his new gig as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bureau, originally the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, was built on the misguided principle that protecting consumers in the financial services arena should be “above politics.” In Washington-speak, that means an entity that’s not accountable to elected politicians — or, by extension, to the people who elected them. That was bad enough. But under the leadership of Barack Obama appointee Richard Cordray, the bureau...

Consumer sentiment fell in January for the first time in six months, with inflation concerns and a sharp drop in perceptions of current conditions among Democratic voters driving the decline. The University of Michigan’s sentiment index dropped to 71.1, its lowest in three months, from 74 in December. The decline was more pronounced than preliminary data suggested, underscoring growing unease about the economy’s trajectory. Consumers reported feeling better about their personal finances and said incomes were stronger. But assessments of business conditions, the labor market, and economic growth slumped.

Credit card defaults in the US skyrocketed by 50% in the past year. Credit card defaults reached $46 billion in the first nine months of 2024, a level not seen since 2010. The cost of living has simply surpassed manageable levels for the majority of households. CreditCardDefaults2024 Americans are feeling the impact of inflation and compounding interest. The New York Federal Reserve found that credit card debt hit a record high in September 2024 after surpassing $1.17 trillion during Q3. The Fed also reported that household debt reached a high of $17.94 trillion, with mortgages ($12.59 trillion), autos ($1.64 trillion),...

Elon Musk’s call to delete the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ignited a fierce debate over the future of financial regulation in America. Musk called for the elimination of the CFPB, describing it as an example of excessive regulatory duplication. Many consider the CFPB to be unconstitutional. Musk’s Bold ProposalDuring a social media campaign, Elon Musk issued a clarion call to end the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Musk labeled the bureau as a redundancy, implying it crippled economic dynamics through its bureaucratic control. Critics and supporters have emerged from various corners as the proposal took the...

Consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in October and 2.6 percent over the previous 12 months as inflation slowly but surely returns to pre-pandemic norms, according to new Labor Department data released Wednesday. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected the consumer price index (CPI) to rise 0.2 percent last month and 2.4 percent over the past year. Core CPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3 percent last month. The shelter index accounted for more than half of then overall monthly increase, rising 0.4 percent in October, according to the Labor Department. Shelter prices were...

Consumer confidence in September suffered the worst decline in more than three years, dragged down by a weaker labor market and rising pessimism about future business conditions and incomes. The Conference Board on Tuesday said its index of U.S. consumer confidence fell to 98.7 in January from 105.6, near the lowest of the range for the index over the past two years. Economists had expected a slight decline to 103 from the preliminary estimate of 103.3 for August. Increasingly pessimistic expectations for the economy’s performance in the months ahead and a weaker labor market drove September’s confidence decline.

Most Americans took a slightly dimmer view of the U.S. economy in September but buoyant Democrat feelings led consumer sentiment to inch higher. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index ticked up to 69 in its preliminary September reading, the best score since May and 1.6 percent higher than the prior month’s reading. The rise in consumer sentiment, however, was confined to Democrats and their view about current economic conditions. The consumer sentiment index for Democrats rose to 92.6 from 90.9, with the current conditions gauge climbing to 90.8 from 86.1 and the expectations measure dipping slightly to 93.7 from...

When U.S. consumers are doing well, the U.S. economy does well. But of course the opposite is also true. When U.S. consumers are not doing well, the U.S. economy really suffers. The government has been trying really hard to put a happy face on things, but the truth is that the standard of living for most U.S. consumers has been going down for a long time. The cost of living has been rising faster than paychecks have, and so most of us have less discretionary income than we once did. And that is really bad news for the U.S. economy,...

A federal judge just upheld a $350,000 punitive damages judgment against a General Motors dealership in Michigan in a spot delivery and wrongful repossession case. The U.S. district judge rejected the argument from Suburban Chevrolet Cadillac of Ann Arbor that the award was excessive. Here’s how this all came to be. In July of 2020, a bad time for everyone, Tina McPherson made a $2,000 down payment on a 2017 Dodge Durango and applied for financing from two lenders, according to Automotive News. The following day, she completed the paperwork and took delivery of the SUV. Everything was OK for...

What I like about Biden’s economy … nothing. Most of Biden’s economic growth came from Trump’s spending and Fed monetary policy from the Covid shutdown of 2020. What was until recently a “red-hot” economy, with the US reportedly growing at an annual rate of 4.9% in Q3 and 3.4% in Q4 2024, has suddenly and dramatically downshifted, and according to the latest GDP data released from Biden’s BEA, Q1 GDP was revised downward from 1.6% to just 1.3% (1.250% to be specific), which was the lowest GDP since the mini-recession of Q2 when GDP declined for 2 quarters in a...

Credit card delinquencies are on the rise, as research from the New York Federal Reserve shows nearly a fifth of borrowers are “maxed-out.” According the new report, issued by the bank’s Center for Microeconomic Data, household debt rose by 1.1 percent, or $184 billion, in the first quarter of the year, bringing the total to $17.69 trillion. “In the first quarter of 2024, credit card and auto loan transition rates into serious delinquency continued to rise across all age groups,” Joelle Scally, regional economic principal within the household and public policy research division at the bank, said in a statement....

A just-released report from Scholaroo indicates that the U.S. national average for credit card debt has escalated to $6,555, with New Jersey residents leading the nation with an average debt of $8,155 per credit card. Scholaroo, a national firm matching college students with potential scholarships, surveyed more than 2,000 people across the United States during the final quarter of 2023.Coming in at a close second is Connecticut, with an average debt of $8,011 per credit card, followed by Maryland, New York, and Alaska—all with average credit card debts of more than $7,600 per card. Rounding out the top 10 states...

resident Biden dismissed polls showing voters disapprove of his handling of the economy and trust former President Trump more on the issue Wednesday. "We've already turned it around," Biden insisted when asked by CNN host Erin Burnett about low consumer confidence about the economy, including housing costs going up, real income adjusted for inflation going down, and weak economic growth since Biden took office. Biden cited a survey indicating the American people "think their nation is not in good shape, but they’re personally in good shape," before asserting, "The polling data has been wrong all along." He knocked polling methodology,...