Consumer Confidence was awful
Feb Consumer Confidence was awful as it fell 10 pts to 46, the lowest since April ’09. Expectations were for a small drop to 55. The Present Situation fell almost 6 pts to the lowest since Feb ’83 while Expectations fell by 13.5 pts to the lowest since July ’09. Those that said Business Conditions are Good fell to a record low dating back to 1967. Those that said business was Bad rose 1.6 pts but is almost 5 pts below the Mar ’09 high. Those that said business will get better over 6 mo’s fell by 4 pts and those saying it will get worse rose by 2.6 pts. Those that said jobs were Plentiful fell .8 pts to 3.6 but remains above the low of 3.1. Those that said jobs were Hard to Get rose 1.1 pts to 47.7 but is below the high of 49.4. Those that plan to buy a home within 6 mo’s did rise by .3 pts to the highest since Aug ’09 and those planning to buy major appliances rose to the most since May ’09. Those that plan to buy a car fell .4 pts. Whatever recovery we think we are having is still not believed by those who are trying to generate it.
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February 23rd, 2010 at 11:01 am
Well look at the political situation since mid-January. We’ve had the GOP crowing about how they’ve got this country by the family jewels and now they’re going shut down the government. We’ve had some signs of action from the Dems but nothing so far. The media narrative has been that this country is paralyzed and unable to act proactively. We’ll see if the Dems are stupid enough to prove that narrative right, or if they have the intelligence and courage to understand that people care about one thing: results.
If we get policy movement out of Washington, expect confidence to soar.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Its been Obama and Biden that have been bragging about the wonderful job the stimulus package did in reviving the economy. So much BS from the two top BS heads in Washington. To complain that Washington has done nothing is lunacy. A $3 plus trillion budget with no means to pay for it is putting the US on a fast track to the same cesspool that Greece and the other Piigs are heading for. Marc Faber said its right, Were Doomed.
Confidence sucks because the leader of our country sucks. He promised hope and change, and now all many folks have left is a little change in their pockets.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Good morning foxmuldar! Apparently you’ve just awaken and were sleeping during the Bush-Cheney years of off-budget wars (the issue of necessity is irrelevant to whether they were paid for, which they were not). How about the fact that Mitch McConnell never cut a nickel out of any program (“Sen. Shelby is on line 1 to demand more zillion-dollar boondoggles that DoD doesn’t want!”).
Don’t ever let reality rain on your Tea Party. Perhaps the tea will help you wake up.
But my response is really more a testament to the seething rage most anywhere you look. For the foxmuldars it’s all Obama’s fault, for me it’s a general incapacity to govern by both parties (thanks to the power of insidious corporate and union money).
Plus it’s been one long, shitty winter just about everywhere. Things should brighten considerably once the snow is gone and we can once again drive fast with the windows rolled down — especially if gasoline is still relatively cheap.