Items include
consumer sentiment
Economic Indicators
Sep 15, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment fell more than expected in the preliminary September reading. Consumers' assessments of their current situation deteriorated modestly, correlating with the increase in gasoline prices. However, their year-ahead inflation expectations dropped sharply, down...
Aug 25, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment edged slightly lower in the final reading for August. Consumers said current conditions were a touch weaker, and their future expectations were moderately lower. Year-ahead inflation expectations edged up to 3.50%, the...
Aug 11, 2023
Bottom Line: As expected, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment edged slightly lower in early August. The index of current conditions edged slightly higher, but future expectations were modestly lower. While year-ahead inflation expectations were still above the long-term average...
Jul 28, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was down just slightly in late July but still well above last month's reading. Consumers are generally less concerned about inflation and report stability in the labor market. However, the lowest-income...
Jul 14, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose sharply more than expected in the preliminary reading for July. Hitting the highest levels since 2021 and before the spike in consumer price inflation, the survey revealed that all but...
Jun 30, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was modestly higher in the final reading, continuing to rise after a sharp rebound in early June. Consumers' expectations for year-ahead inflation fell early in the month and were steady in...
Jun 16, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rebounded sharply in early June as consumers' expectations for year-ahead inflation fell. The resolution to the debt ceiling and mostly stable gasoline prices had consumers feeling better. That said, by historical...
May 26, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rebounded slightly in the latter half of May, but year-ahead expectations for the economy were still down 17% from April, with long-run expectations down 14%. Consumers remain concerned about the debt...
May 12, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey showed a surprisingly sharp decline in early May. The future expectation index hit its lowest level since the initial inflation spike early last year, and the current conditions index hit its...
Apr 14, 2023
Bottom Line: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey rose more than expected in early April, and year-ahead inflation expectations jumped sharply. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 3.6% in March to 4.6% in April, the highest since November. However, we...
Mar 31, 2023
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment fell even further in the second half of March after dropping in the days leading up to the bank failures, according to the University of Michigan's latest revisions to its survey. On the plus side, year-ahead...
Mar 17, 2023
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment fell sharply in the first half of March, according to the University of Michigan survey, dropping even before the news of bank failures. 85% of survey responses were collected before the SVB bank failure. Declining for...
Feb 24, 2023
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment edged modestly higher throughout February, according to the final reading of the University of Michigan's survey. Consumers' reports about the current conditions in the economy edged slightly lower, while their future expectations rose relative to earlier...
Jan 27, 2023
Bottom Line: The final reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan's survey confirmed the sharp increase to nine-month highs that was reported earlier this month. Consumers' expectations for inflation continued to decline, dropping another tenth in the last...
Jan 13, 2023
Bottom Line: The preliminary reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan's survey rose to a nine-month high as year-ahead inflation expectations fell to 4%, the lowest since April '21. While improving sharply, year-ahead inflation expectations remained well above...
Dec 9, 2022
Bottom Line: The preliminary reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan's survey rebounded modestly in early December, more than expected. While gains were seen across demographics, those with higher incomes and stock market holdings saw the sharpest gains...
Nov 23, 2022
Bottom Line: The final reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan's survey rebounded modestly after sharp declines in the initial results. Buying conditions for durable goods had markedly improved in September and October but fell sharply in November....
Oct 28, 2022
Bottom Line: The final October reading of the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers showed sentiment rose modestly as consumers' assessments of their current situations improved slightly. Moreover, their year-ahead inflation expectations, which remain high at 5%, eased slightly in...
Oct 14, 2022
Bottom Line: The preliminary October reading of the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers showed sentiment rose due to improved assessments of current conditions. Year-ahead inflation expectations, which had been trending steadily lower and were expected to fall to 4.6%...
Sep 30, 2022
Bottom Line: The final reading of the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers showed sentiment slipped modestly as concerns about future business conditions outweighed more positive assessments of the current conditions. Current assessments were more positive, mostly on the heels...
Sep 16, 2022
Bottom Line: After hitting record lows in June, consumer sentiment continued to rebound, with the preliminary reading for September coming in just below expectations. Consumers' expected year-ahead inflation rate declined to 4.6%, the lowest reading since last September, and their...
Aug 12, 2022
Bottom Line: After hitting record lows in June, consumer sentiment continued to rebound, according to the preliminary August reading of the University of Michigan survey. Led by future expectations, the index measuring how consumers feel about their prospects for the...
Jul 29, 2022
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment rebounded from record lows, according to the final July reading of the University of Michigan survey, proving a touch better than expected and better than the preliminary reading. Nonetheless, consumer sentiment remains near historic lows. Moreover,...
Jul 15, 2022
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment rebounded from record lows, according to the preliminary July reading of the University of Michigan survey. Consumers' inflation expectations for the year-ahead eased slightly, down a tenth to 5.2%, but their 5-year ahead expectations fell sharply,...
Jun 24, 2022
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment plunged in early June and remained low throughout the month, according to the final reading of the University of Michigan survey. The survey index fell to a record low as consumers across all incomes, ages, and...
Jun 10, 2022
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment plunged to a record low in June, according to the University of Michigan's preliminary survey reading. The share of consumers citing inflation as the biggest reason for their negative outlooks was only this high once before,...
May 27, 2022
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment was revised to show an even larger drop in May than the survey data suggested earlier in the month. Consumers expressed negative views on buying conditions for homes and durable goods, mostly due to their inflation...
May 13, 2022
Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment fell sharply in the preliminary May reading from the University of Michigan survey. With equity market declines garnering headlines, consumers' assessments of the current financial situation relative to a year ago were at their lowest reading...
Mar 26, 2025
In the current economic uncertainty, consumer confidence is falling and spending is expected to slow. We look at how this impacts SMBs and how CFIs can support them.
Jul 11, 2024
A recent survey on trust in financial services signals that US financial institutions could do more to build trust and customer loyalty. We explore six strategies to help do so.
Dec 29, 2023
In this final holiday reprint, we return to the topic of economy from this March 28 article: There are more ways than one to discern whether the US economy is in or headed for a recession. Instead of looking for the usual suspects, here are eight unconventional indicators that a recession is coming.
Feb 9, 2023
Algorithms are becoming a mainstay in loan approval processes, but studies show that interaction with tech doesn’t do much for customer satisfaction. Overcoming this challenge might involve CFIs adding back a dash of what they do best into their automated processes: the human touch. We discuss how this can be accomplished.
Mar 28, 2023
There are more ways than one to discern whether the US economy is in or headed for a recession. Instead of looking for the usual suspects, here are eight unconventional indicators that a recession is coming.