Confidence among American consumers stabilized last week after four straight declines even as their views of the economy deteriorated. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index (COMFCOMF) rose to minus 32.1 in the week ended Sept. 8 from minus 32.3. [cont.] Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg Read more »
Five Years after Market Crash, U.S. Economy Seen as ‘No More Secure’
Five years after the U.S. economy faced its most serious crisis since the Great Depression, a majority of Americans (63%) say the nation’s economic system is no more secure today than it was before the 2008 market crash. Just a third (33%) think the system is more secure now than […] Read more »
Five Years After Lehman Fell, Consumer Recovery Mixed
On Sept. 15, 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the nation’s leading banking institutions, triggered not only a global economic contraction, but a sharp downturn in Americans’ confidence in the economy on many levels. Americans’ views have since bounced back on certain Gallup core economic measures, even exceeding […] Read more »
U.S. Economic Confidence Slump Eases
Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index registered -16 last week, a slight improvement from -18 the previous week, but still four points below the 2013 index average of -12. Prior to last week, Americans’ confidence in the economy had generally been on a downward trajectory, after nearly reaching positive territory in […] Read more »
Consumer Comfort Declines for a Fourth Straight Week
Consumer confidence fell for a fourth consecutive week to its lowest level since early April as Americans’ views on the economy and buying climate deteriorated. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index eased to minus 32.3 for the period ended Sept. 1, its weakest reading since April 7, from minus 31.7. The […] Read more »
Respecting the Science
Some folks – perhaps only stats nerds like yours truly – noticed this item in the press last week: “Second-Quarter G.D.P. Revised Sharply Higher … Government statisticians gave the American economy a lift Thursday when they sharply revised their calculation of the nation’s second-quarter growth to an annual rate of […] Read more »