January 22, 2024 | Daily JAM, Morning Briefing, Short Term |
On Friday the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index reported a rise of 9.1 points, the biggest monthly advance since 2005, to 78.8. The preliminary January reading stands at the highest level since July 2021. Consumer sentiment jumped 13% in January to its highest level since mid-2021. Since November, consumer sentiment has risen 29%, marking the largest two-month increase in more than 30 years. And that was just the top line in a report with lots of good news for stocks and the current rally.
May 12, 2023 | Daily JAM, Mid Term, Morning Briefing |
It’s only a survey of consumer sentiment so it’s not very important to the financial markets, right? Wrong. The University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment for May illustrates perfectly the trap that the Federal Reserve is caught in right now.
March 7, 2023 | Daily JAM, Mid Term |
According to Fannie Mae’s latest survey of consumer sentiment, less than one-third expect their personal financial situation to get better over the next year. That’s the lowest positive percentage in a series that goes back more than a decade. This isn’t good news for anyone worried about a recession in 2023 or 2024.
May 30, 2020 | Daily JAM, Friday Trick or Trend, Mid Term, You Might Have Missed |
Our regular (or occasional or perhaps occasionally regular) Friday series (actually running on Saturday this week) Trick or Trend looks at what might (or might not) be emerging investible trends. Exclusively on JAM. This post won't run anywhere else. Ever. In April...
October 25, 2019 | Daily JAM, Morning Briefing |
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...
August 28, 2019 | Daily JAM, Morning Briefing, Volatility |
Recessions have a huge "sentiment" component in their causation. Consumers and CEOs look around at the economy, assess their feelings about the future economy, and decide that the prudent course is to cut back on spending to prepare for the coming economic downturn....
April 4, 2019 | Daily JAM, Mid Term, Morning Briefing, Volatility, You Might Have Missed |
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to 58.9 from 60 in the week ended March 31, according to a report Thursday. That's an eight-week low. Survey respondents’ sentiment on their personal finances posted the steepest two-week drop since 2015. All three main...
February 15, 2019 | Daily JAM, Morning Briefing, Short Term |
Wall Street spent yesterday denying that retail sales could be as weak as indicated by the newest report from the Commerce Department. Today Wall Street is celebrating  the vindication of its cynicism on yesterday retail report in the preliminary University of...
January 17, 2019 | Daily JAM, Short Term, Volatility, You Might Have Missed |
Most of the recent sentiment surveys show the same result: While sentiment about current conditions--AKA the present--remains strong, sentiment about conditions 6 to 12 months out is sliding in a pessimistic direction. The recent Bloomberg Consumer Comfort index,...
May 11, 2018 | Daily JAM |
The preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey showed the index holding steady with the final reading for April of 98.8. That means the index remains near a 14-year high. A good thing, I’d say.n But there was some slippage that suggests keeping a close watch on the index and the economy–and especially on inflation expectations.
May 30, 2014 | Daily JAM, Morning Briefing, Short Term |
Personal spending dropped by 0.1% in April. That was down from a revised 1% gain in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had projected that spending would climb by 0.2%.
