Meanwhile, Hitler youth will tell you the economy is fantastic.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/06/opin...prices-inflation-peterson-guichard/index.html
Fast forward to now: Consumers are increasingly stretched. Pandemic savings are depleted. Wage gains are slowing. Household debt is rising rapidly. Heightened debt levels and interest rates mean that consumers are spending more on interest payments, with less left for goods and services.
Also, more households find it difficult to service and repay debt, especially those who have already maxed out their credit cards. Delinquencies are rising, and about a third of maxed-out borrowers have fallen behind in their payments over the last year, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
When asked about their financial situation now and in the future, consumers’ worries have grown since February. More are saying that their financial situation is bad and fewer are expecting it to improve. And for four consecutive months, our Expectations Index — a measure based on consumers’ short-term outlook for their income as well as business and labor market conditions — was in the territory that usually signals a recession is on the horizon.
With inflation persisting, interest rates likely to stay higher for longer and lingering anxiety about the future, it is no surprise that consumers have become more cautious. Retail sales stagnated in April, actually declining month-over-month after adjusting for inflation. Spending on cars, sporting goods and at restaurants was notably weak.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/06/opin...prices-inflation-peterson-guichard/index.html
Fast forward to now: Consumers are increasingly stretched. Pandemic savings are depleted. Wage gains are slowing. Household debt is rising rapidly. Heightened debt levels and interest rates mean that consumers are spending more on interest payments, with less left for goods and services.
Also, more households find it difficult to service and repay debt, especially those who have already maxed out their credit cards. Delinquencies are rising, and about a third of maxed-out borrowers have fallen behind in their payments over the last year, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
When asked about their financial situation now and in the future, consumers’ worries have grown since February. More are saying that their financial situation is bad and fewer are expecting it to improve. And for four consecutive months, our Expectations Index — a measure based on consumers’ short-term outlook for their income as well as business and labor market conditions — was in the territory that usually signals a recession is on the horizon.
With inflation persisting, interest rates likely to stay higher for longer and lingering anxiety about the future, it is no surprise that consumers have become more cautious. Retail sales stagnated in April, actually declining month-over-month after adjusting for inflation. Spending on cars, sporting goods and at restaurants was notably weak.
