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This week, Rasmussen's Mark Mitchell announced that "for the first time in the 29-year history of our asking Americans whether the country is on the right track 50% of voters said yes. This level of optimism wasn't achieved during the Clinton, Bush, Obama, or Biden administrations nor the first Trump term. Only last November 63% said the country was on the wrong track. Clearly something has changed the minds of Americans." "Perhaps it was how President Trump so quickly sealed a border that President Biden said couldn't be done without Congressional action," Mitchell speculated. "Our country had to put up...

U.S. consumers cut back sharply on spending last month, the most since February 2021, even as inflation declined, though stiff tariffs threatened by the White House could disrupt that progress. Americans cut their spending by 0.2% in January from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Friday, likely in part because of unseasonably cold weather. Yet the retreat may be hinting at more caution by consumers amid rising economic uncertainty. Inflation declined to 2.5% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.6% in December, the government said. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices dropped to...

The American consumer is getting worried about the economy. Economic jitters are showing up across various sentiment surveys as the Trump administration aims to reconfigure America’s trade relationship with the world and inflation shows signs of getting stuck. The latest evidence comes from The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for February, released Tuesday morning. The index fell to 98.3, falling for the third-straight month and marking the largest monthly decline since August 2021, as expectations for inflation in the year ahead climbed. That coincides with the trends reflected in the University of Michigan’s consumer survey for February. Homebuilders are also...

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.

Confidence! It’s what consumers DON’T have under Bidenomics. For the fourth straight month, The Conference Board revised its consumer confidence data significantly lower. In fact January’s was the biggest downward revision since Feb 2022. And Conference Board Consumer Confidence was DOWN to -3.90 in January, the worst since Feb 2022. It really isn’t surprising the consumer confidence stinks. Food prices (CPI) are UP 21% under Vacation Joe Biden. Diesel fuel prices are UP 90% under Listless Joe. Well, Biden’s appearance on (unfunny) Seth Myer’s Late Night Show certainly didn’t make me feel more confident about America’s future.

Key inflation data, quarterly results from Disney (DIS), and an increasingly contentious debate over the looming national debt limit await investors in the week ahead. For investors, Wednesday morning's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for April will be the week's biggest release, with markets looking for signs of a further slowdown in consumer prices. Wall Street expects headline CPI, which includes the price of food and energy, rose 5% over last year in April, which would match the annual increase seen in March. Prices are set to rise 0.4% on a month-over-month basis. On a "core" basis, which strips out...

As Connor MacLeod said in the film Highlander, “There can only be one!” The US banking system under Joe Biden’s Reign of Error is like the film Highlander: apparently, there can only be one bank. And it is likely JP Morgan Chase. Take the JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) acquisition of First Republic Bank: In Acquiring First Republic Bank, JP Morgan Has: Bypassed laws against acquiring bank while controlling 10%+ of US deposits Shared $13 billion in losses with the FDIC Received a $50 billion loan from the FDIC Effectively bought back its own deposits Expects to profit $5 billion+ over...

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in February, with the decrease concentrated among lower-middle-income households, though Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market. The survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday also showed consumers apprehensive about buying big-ticket items like motor vehicles and household appliances over the next six months. But correlation between confidence and consumer spending has been weak. A strong labor market has kept Americans spending despite worries about the future fueled by the Federal Reserve's stiff interest rate hikes to quell inflation. "Households are likely cautious given inflation is still elevated and...

Roaring inflation is tanking Americans' confidence in the economy.. U.S. consumer confidence tanked in early June, reaching the lowest level ever recorded as soaring inflation batters Americans' budgets and fuels concerns for the economy at large. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index released Friday shows the index plunged to 50 this month, a 14.4% drop from May and the lowest reading since the survey began in the late 1970s. ... The survey indicated declines in every component, reflecting a bleak vision from respondents: The year-ahead outlook tumbled 24%, while Americans' assessments of their personal financial situations worsened by 20%....

(Reuters) - Wall Street’s main indexes tumbled in midday trading on Tuesday as a sharp drop in consumer confidence brought to the fore growth risks from rising inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 shed the initial gains from a rise in bank shares as the latest batch of economic data raised doubts on the U.S. economy’s resilience to withstand hefty interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The consumer confidence index dropped 4.5 points to a reading of 98.7 in June, a Conference Board survey showed, as consumers anticipated economic growth would weaken significantly in the...

More Americans are beginning to hold off on booking flights, getting haircuts, building backyard pools and replacing old leaky roofs — in some of the new signs that the consumer engine of U.S. economic growth could be losing steam. Over the past several weeks, households had already cut back on big-ticket purchases because of soaring prices, but in a worrisome twist, data suggests consumers are also beginning to tap the brakes on dining out, vacation plans and even routine services like manicures, hair cuts and home-cleaning appointments. Business owners around the country say rising prices, dwindling savings and concerns of...

U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply as expectations about economic conditions plummeted in July. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 92.6 from 98.3 in June. Wall Street economists had forecast a milder decline to 95.7, according to Econoday. The Present Situation Index – based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions – improved from 86.7 to 94.2, reflecting the reopening of the economy. But the Expectations Index – based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions – fell from 106.1 in June to 91.5 in July. “Consumer Confidence declined in July following...

President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the U.S. economy as performing extremely well ... But there's always been a paradox with national economic success, as it means voters can afford to turn their attention to other issues. One such potential issue is Americans' personal financial insecurity. According to a recent Gallup poll, 40% of Americans say they are either running into debt or barely making ends meet.

Credit: iStock U.S. consumer confidence improved in February, topping all forecasts and snapping a three-month losing streak, after the U.S. government ended the longest shutdown in the country's history and the trade war edged toward a resolution. The confidence index climbed to 131.4 from 121.7, the New York-based Conference Board said in a report Tuesday. That compared with a Bloomberg survey of economists that called for a rise to 124.9. The measure gauging Americans' views on present conditions rose to an 18-year high while consumer expectations posted the largest monthly gain since 2011. Key insights • The increase comes amid...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ consumer confidence rose in August to the highest level in nearly 18 years as their assessment of current conditions improved further and their expectations about the future rebounded. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 133.4 in August, up from a reading 127.9 in July. It was the highest reading since confidence stood at 135.8 in October 2000. Consumers’ confidence in their ability to get a job and the overall economy are seen as important indicators of how freely they will spend, especially on big-ticket items such as cars, in coming...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ consumer confidence rose in August to the highest level in nearly 18 years as their assessment of current conditions improved further and their expectations about the future rebounded.</p> <p>The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 133.4 in August, up from a reading 127.9 in July. It was the highest reading since confidence stood at 135.8 in October 2000.</p>

American consumers are the most confident they’ve been since 2000. The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index rose to 130.8 in February, highest since November 2000 and up from 124.3 in January. The business research group’s index measures consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their outlook for the next six months. They feel better about today’s economy than they have since March 2001. Their outlook also improved. Tax cuts passed into law last year are starting to show up in workers’ paychecks. “As people slowly absorb the details of the tax reform package, opinion polls suggest that it is...

The Conference Board's measure of consumer attitudes on current and future economic conditions was expected to increase to 126.30 in February, according to a survey of Reuters economists.

Hope And Change: You'd never guess this from the end-of-the-world treatment President Trump gets in the mainstream press, but his election has unleashed a wave of optimism about the economy we haven't seen in more than a decade. This is huge news that has big implications about economic growth. The latest business leaders' survey from JPMorgan Chase finds a dramatic increase in optimism among the 1,400 middle-market executives polled. It found that 80% of these executives are optimistic about the economy, which is nearly double the share expressing optimism just one year ago. And it's the highest level since this...

American consumers are the sunniest they’ve been in more than 15 years, and Donald Trump’s election may be one of the reasons why. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index climbed to 113.7 in December, up from 109.4 in November and the highest since it reached 114 in August 2001. It’s another sign consumers are confident in the aftermath of a divisive election campaign. “The election of Donald Trump has raised household expectations for the economy to a very high level,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities, wrote in a research note.