Commentary U.S. consumer confidence has plummeted to a decade-low in November. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 66.8 in November, down sharply from the October figure of 71.7 and well below consensus forecasts of 72.4. Inflation is hurting consumers, and the impact on daily purchases is more severe than what the Federal…

Consumer confidence experienced its sharpest weekly drop since the start of the CCP virus pandemic as states announce lockdowns one after another to contain the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Currently, over half of all Australians are now in lockdown after South Australia announced restrictions were coming into force from 6 p.m. Tuesday, after five cases were…

Australian consumer confidence has surged despite the negative economic impact of Victoria’s fourth lockdown and the emergence of a new COVID-19 cluster in Sydney. According to ANZ-Roy Morgan’s consumer confidence index, it has risen 1.3 percent this week to 112.4 points, which is above the weekly average score and 14.9 points higher than the same week…

Commentary The University of Michigan consumer confidence index fell to 82.8 in May, from 88.3 in April. More importantly, the current economic conditions index slumped to 90.8 from 97.2, and the consumer expectations index declined to 77.6 from 82.7. Hard data also questions the strength of the recovery. April retail sales were flat, with clothing…

Australia’s economy is well on the road to recovery, as new economic data on retail spending shows strong levels of consumer confidence. Preliminary retail trade figures for March released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics surpassed economists’ expectation of 1 percent growth, revealing a 1.4 percent increase in retail sales. The rise was lead by…

Economists expect the latest job figures will show a further easing in the unemployment rate and another solid rise in the number of people employed, reflecting Victoria’s recovery from a prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. The December labour force report is released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on January 14. The median forecast is for a…