US Consumer Sentiment

Trump said he did not believe hard times were ahead for US consumers, while acknowledging that his 145% tariffs on many Chinese goods amounted to a near-embargo

Americans' confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as anxiety over the impact of tariffs takes a heavy toll. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020. Nearly one-third of consumers expect hiring to slow in the coming months, nearly matching the level reached in April 2009, when the economy was mired in the Great Recession. The figures reflect a rapidly souring mood among Americans, most of whom expect prices to rise because of the widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Centre. Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers, said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, in an email. If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go ..

Consultancy firm Anderson Economic Group said in a report on Thursday that 25 per cent tariff on auto imports may cost American consumers more than $30 billion in higher vehicle prices and reduced car

Albertus, a Danish school principal, said he canceled all his streaming services in favor of European or Danish ones and no longer eats at American fast-food chains

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending rising 0.5 per cent after a previously reported 0.2 per cent fall in January

The belt-tightening indicates that Americans, whose finances are broadly healthy, are preparing for their finances to be more stretched, said Max Axler, chief credit officer of Synchrony

Consumer inflation expectations have been rising for the last month or two across several reports. Some surveys point to businesses anticipating higher prices as well

The American economy grew at a solid 2.3 per cent annual rate the last three months of 2024, supported by a burst of year-end consumer spending, the government said, leaving unchanged its initial estimate of fourth-quarter growth. The outlook for 2025 is cloudier as President Donald Trump pursues trade wars, cutbacks in the federal workforce and mass deportations. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that growth in gross domestic product the nation's output of goods and services decelerated from a 3.1 per cent pace in July-September 2024. For all of last year, the economy grew 2.8 per cent, compared with 2.9 per cent in 2023. Consumer spending advanced at a 4.2 per cent pace from October through December. The report shows that Trump inherited a healthy economy when he took office last month. Growth has now topped a decent 2 per cent for nine of the last 10 quarters. Unemployment is low at 4 per cent, and inflation has come down from the highs it hit in mid-2022. After lowe

It followed on the heels of surveys last week showing steep declines in business and consumer sentiment in February

Households on average saw inflation over the next year at 2.9 per cent, down from 3.0 per cent in September and the lowest estimate for near-term price increases in four years

The Conference Board said on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 114.8 this month, the highest reading since December 2021

The proposal marks a long-anticipated and ambitious move by CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to assert the agency's full authority over Big Tech

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% last month after gaining 0.1% in March, the Labor Department said on Wednesday

The consumer price index was up 7.7% from a year earlier, the smallest annual advance since the start of the year and down from 8.2% in September

U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in early February amid growing pessimism about the economy among households with annual incomes below $75,000

US consumers increased their spending by 1.9% last month, a dose of support for an economy struggling to emerge from a pandemic that has held back recovery and kept roughly 27 million people jobless

The longest government shutdown in the history of the United States has left some 800,000 government workers without a paycheck