Biz

Consumer Sentiment Slips …

THANKS A LOT, POOR PEOPLE! || By FITSNEWS || For the first time since late 2013, consumer sentiment has declined in back-to-back months. And while this key economic metric remains at a high level, The Thomson-Reuters University of Michigan (Go Blue!) survey of consumers saw its index of consumer sentiment…

THANKS A LOT, POOR PEOPLE!

|| By FITSNEWS || For the first time since late 2013, consumer sentiment has declined in back-to-back months. And while this key economic metric remains at a high level,

The Thomson-Reuters University of Michigan (Go Blue!) survey of consumers saw its index of consumer sentiment decline from 95.4 to 93.  There were also modest declines in sentiment related to the current economic situation (106.9 to 105) as well as consumer expectations (88 to 85.3).

Predictably, the mainstream media reaction was muted – with the Associated Press blaming the modest downtick on “bad weather and rising gasoline prices.”  Oh, the AP also zeroed in on the “Bah, Humbug” perceptions of low-income Americans – who were apparently exclusively to blame for the decline.

Amazing, huh?

Our government robs these people (and the middle class) blind in order to transfer wealth to the one percent … and now wants to blame them for not being sufficiently optimistic?

It’s all going to be fine, though, according to the “rainbows and unicorns” economists who run the survey.

“Expanding job opportunities as well as more favorable wage gains have meant that consumer spending will rebound during the balance of the year,” the survey’s chief economist Richard Curtin said. “While there is a widespread expectation that interest rates will begin to rise later in the year, few consumers anticipated that the size of the increases will dampen their credit sensitive purchase plans.”

Really?

Want another take?  According to our friends over at Zero Hedge, the readings shouldn’t be greeted with quite so much optimism.

“Under the surface there are concerns with an increasing number of respondents noting that household finance are worse than 5 years ago, and an increasing number of people seeing now as a ‘bad time to buy’ a house or car,” the website reported.

Ruh-roh …

Why does this metric matter?  Well, as we’ve often noted consumer confidence can be a good indicator of consumer spending, which in turn can be a good indicator of employment and … in turn … incomes. Which of course leads back to confidence.

***

Related posts

Biz

Massive Jobs Beat: Swamp Spike Drives The Numbers

FITSNews
Biz

Port Drama: Strike Ends, Automation Debate Continues

Will Folks
Biz

Port Strike: Deadline Fast Approaching

Will Folks

18 comments

GrandTango March 27, 2015 at 1:29 pm

Yet sum of FITS most ardent @$$-kissers swear the economy is BOOMING…

Friends we’re in trouble. A large part of it is Obama MISERABLE presidency…but we have a media that is perpetuating lies…and even doctoring data to fool the lesser bulbs about how bad it really is..

Harry Reid is even admitting he’s a F*#k up for following Obama…and Pelosi is going too…

Yet the media, bolstered by a certain number of Obama liars cling to the myths…that deny deny Obama TOTAL failure of the American people…

Reply
Trolling GrandTango March 27, 2015 at 1:31 pm

Your reaction would make Hillary winning in 2016 completely worth it.

Reply
GrandTango March 27, 2015 at 1:42 pm

I understand…

When you S#!t all over yourselves on Nov. 4, I laughed my @$$ off…Nothing like seeing ignorant F*#king liberals after you get the S#!t slapped out of you…LMAO…

Remember how FITS immediately whined about voter turn-out…That was PRICELESS…and Obama said the majority that did not vote were the winners….What a F*#king Dumb@$$…

And I can’t wait ’til you run Hillary in 2016…and the media assures you she is a lock, but the multiple-voters will not cheat for her…

And how F*#king DUMB-founded will you be afterward…That’s worth a million dollars…

Reply
grandtangosuglydog March 28, 2015 at 1:11 am

And that would be exactly one million more dollars than you made with your blog.

Reply
GrandTango March 28, 2015 at 9:33 am

Desperately P!$$#d-off much….???…LMAO…

Rocky March 27, 2015 at 1:56 pm

You dropping acid again? Think I’ll take the fam out for nice seafood dinner just to prove you wrong – #)$%*(

Reply
Rocky March 27, 2015 at 8:48 pm

Ah yeah, I had the mahi, my wife had the mahi. One daughter went for the crab legs, the other 1/2 dozen oysters and crab cakes. Awesome good. WE life a generous tip. We had to wait 20 minutes for a table. Cause you know – the economy sucks.

Reply
GrandTango March 28, 2015 at 6:43 am

Allow me to employ some literary license:

I see a double-chinned, dough-boy with a LeBron (Heat) Jersey over a skin-tight T-shirt, who just rolled up in his dream car. A Denali -that needs a car wash – big enough to carry a “large” family. This hairy, mole-faced consumptive loudly bustles into a Red Lobster, letting everybody know, without saying it, he just got paid.

He panders to one of the busing help who is rushing to clean off a table. The rotund blusterer fancies himself as one of them, with a quip of: “I’m down for the struggle, bro.”

The bewildered young man looks at classmates working with him – who LeBron-in-his-mind does not identify with – and smiles, almost goggling. He’s a bit embarrassed that this monstrosity of race-baiting assumption has picked him out to publicly befriend.

While chagrin would be appropriate, the always-hungry women traveling with the John Candy dead-ringer are oblivious. Their minds filled with the dilemma of the Cheesy Bay biscuit or the garlic and butter bread cakes.

Trance-like, the polyester-clad cherubs stare intently at the menu after being hastily seated. Each girl in succession of age, and poundage, barks out pre-orders, seeming irritated its taking so long to get an emergency helping of whatever. They are not used to inactivity involving hand-to-mouth. And price is no object, ‘Ditty’ said so.

For Rocky, and his grotesque clan, animal oil and upper-level fast food excess are prosperity. To slurp, gulp and become totally engrossed in a fat-laden feast that his cardiac-system, and the arteries of his “women” can ill-afford, is the bliss that his government-job, with food stamp assistance affords him.

This is his version of “CLASS” – high off the hawg – in the Lord Obama-conomy…

Reply
Rocky March 27, 2015 at 1:46 pm

Key words from lead paragraph – “while this key economic metric remains at a high level” Kind of hard to argue the economy is crumbling when you also state the metric is at a high level. Seems like measuring a slack tide to me.

Reply
FastEddy23 March 27, 2015 at 6:40 pm

“Been down so long it looks like up to me.”

Reply
Bible Thumper March 27, 2015 at 2:31 pm

Zerohedge is an example of using the right metric, you can support any proposition.
EXAMPLE: “with an increasing number of respondents noting that household finance are worse than 5 years ago,”
Do you think when asked that question, people carefully distinguish between 4, 5, 6, or 7 years ago? Five years ago was the depth of the Great Recession and even since then people have tapped in to their savings and wealth to get by. So you would expect a lot of people are worse off.
But, if you were to ask if their household finances are better or worse than last year or the year before, a lot more would be answering better.

My point is that whether someone feals better off financially now than five years ago, has as much to do with what was happening then as now. It is just not a good measure of what is happening now.

Reply
Bible Thumper March 27, 2015 at 3:01 pm

“rainbows and unicorns”
It is interesting that Fits relies on Zerohedge for the most obscure metrics (see BT’s earlier post) for his “gloom and doom” projections, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes data for every month of the year.

The BLS also publishes state employment data for each month of the year. Being predominantly a SC website and Fits pride in being first, you would expect Fits to be first to report today’s release of SC February employment. Both January and February reports were released in March.

But then Fits did report on SC employment last year when they were particularly gloomy. It is only when they are rosy that he forgets. I may have to continue to inform your readers myself, but I’ve decided to wait and give you a chance.

Reply
MashPotato March 29, 2015 at 4:34 pm

Another item contained in the BLS monthly employment reports is the revision of their previous reports. They typically revise them downward, sometimes changing what was thought to be a positive month down into the negative. So everyone celebrates the good, albeit false, news, then don’t pay any attention to the correction to the truer numbers. Twain was right- statisticians are damn liars.

Reply
Bible Thumper March 29, 2015 at 5:12 pm

I watch the revisions. SC January jobs increase was revised from 10,841 down to 10,610. There are weaknesses in every system. SC BLS monthly report is based on about 1000 interviews. They also seasonally adjust them, January was adjusted up; February’s was adjusted down.

Zerohedge picks data that fits their narrative. They used a dated enterprise creation stat that was a year old from Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup to make the argument that current economic conditions were in decline. The current data was available and showed the opposite was true. Sometimes Zerohedge has accurate data but they present it in a misleading way. 40% of 4th Qrt. GDP growth was health care but the way they present charts to show changes in revisions, you would think it’s a lot worse.

Whenever you discuss the economy, you have to have data from some source. The fact that the BLS repeats the same survey every month gives them experience. Also, I am more interested in the monthly change than the raw numbers. That way if numbers are exaggerated you would hurt future economic improvements. Continuously exaggerating improvements from one report to the next would eventually catch up with you.

Reply
Will Folks March 27, 2015 at 5:27 pm

Don’t worry The Donald will fly his fancy jet in and fix everything!

Reply
FastEddy23 March 27, 2015 at 6:39 pm

“Will vote for spare change” Bizzaro cartoon of panhandler.

Reply
euwe max March 27, 2015 at 9:27 pm

eyeball… piece of pie…K2… firecracker.

Reply
diamonddave March 28, 2015 at 5:14 pm

Just one question, when did we go on the metric system?(not that it’s a bad idea). It just sounds like bunch of Obama math to me. Yes, blame it on “poor folks”. Being poor does not equate to being stupid.

Reply

Leave a Comment