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  • US Consumer Confidence Down Again

    Just when things started to look better these numbers come out. Doesn't look so good now. Maybe the rebate checks will help a bit in the next couple of months, but I think not enough. There is a tremendous amount of money on the sidelines right now. I will be really interesting to see if it gets used or if it stays on the sidelines.

    Consumers: The new skeptics

    Another measure of consumer sentiment shows how labor market weakness threatens recovery.
    July 29, 2003: 2:11 PM EDT
    By Mark Gongloff, CNN/Money Staff Writer

    NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - For months, U.S. businesses have been skeptical about the economy's prospects, despite the rosy predictions of economists, while consumers have continued to spend money, keeping the economy afloat.

    But if recent surveys are any indication, those roles apparently have reversed -- just as businesses feel the first faint stirrings of optimism that the second half of 2003 will get a boost from tax cuts, low interest rates and more, consumers are beginning to voice their disappointment with the longest labor-market slump since World War II.


    The latest consumer sentiment survey from the Conference Board, a New York research firm, was surprisingly weak in July, as consumers' comfort with the present and optimism about the future both crumbled under the weight of labor-market weakness.

    "Ultimately, for the economic recovery to sustain itself, we have to see the labor market improve," said Ethan Harris, chief economist at Lehman Brothers. "As the tax-cut benefits fade, consumers will look for more fundamental reasons to spend money, and there will have to be some job growth."

    More than 2.5 million jobs have been lost since March 2001, when economists believe a recession began. Though the recession apparently ended in November 2001, labor market weakness has continued.
    Attached Files
    I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
    - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

  • #2
    I saw this. Good! I have more time to get some money into retail investment!
    Monkey!!!

    Comment


    • #3
      umm consumer spending is up. who cares about confidence when people are spending more?

      sorry, the economy will not tank as you hope it will.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Dissident
        umm consumer spending is up.
        Not enough to create jobs.
        I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
        - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

        Comment


        • #5
          Where did you get your economics degree? How much exactly do we need to create more jobs and how many jobs are enough?
          Lets always remember the passangers on United Flight 93, true heroes in every sense of the word!

          (Quick! Someone! Anyone! Sava! Come help! )-mrmitchell

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Defiant
            Where did you get your economics degree?
            CSU Fresno
            Originally posted by Defiant
            How much exactly do we need to create more jobs and how many jobs are enough?
            I couldn't make any guess about consumer spending, but GDP will have to increase at about 5-6%.
            I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
            - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

            Comment


            • #7
              I guess you could say that all things being equal consumer spending would have to increase by 5-6%
              I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
              - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

              Comment


              • #8
                You are probably going to get that much out of the rebate checks. 5-6% isn't unreasonable and doable.
                Lets always remember the passangers on United Flight 93, true heroes in every sense of the word!

                (Quick! Someone! Anyone! Sava! Come help! )-mrmitchell

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Defiant
                  You are probably going to get that much out of the rebate checks. 5-6% isn't unreasonable and doable.
                  I seriously doubt it. They have already done surveys that indicate that the majority of people don't plan on making new purchases with it, and with confidence low that is a very strong possibility.
                  I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
                  - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    But you have to look that the spending is up, if the trend continues, with lack of any other data, the logical conclusion is they will probably put it into the economy. Sure some will pay off bills, but I am looking at building a new shed in the back yard, I can't be alone. Simple question is there enough to do the follwing.
                    Lets always remember the passangers on United Flight 93, true heroes in every sense of the word!

                    (Quick! Someone! Anyone! Sava! Come help! )-mrmitchell

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Defiant
                      But you have to look that the spending is up, if the trend continues, with lack of any other data, the logical conclusion is they will probably put it into the economy. Sure some will pay off bills, but I am looking at building a new shed in the back yard, I can't be alone. Simple question is there enough to do the follwing.
                      The checks are very small. They will prop the economy up for now, but little else.
                      I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
                      - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Wait, see and hope for the best, you flood the economy with that much money something should break loose.
                        Lets always remember the passangers on United Flight 93, true heroes in every sense of the word!

                        (Quick! Someone! Anyone! Sava! Come help! )-mrmitchell

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Kidicious


                          Not enough to create jobs.
                          Not at least in the short term. And the manufacturing sector posted strong results recently.



                          "The Commerce Department (news - web sites) said orders for durable goods -- items like cars and refrigerators designed to last three years or more -- climbed 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted $172.5 billion last month after being flat in May."

                          So kiddo is again overstating everything and acting like a communist.
                          For there is [another] kind of violence, slower but just as deadly, destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions -- indifference, inaction, and decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. - Bobby Kennedy (Mindless Menance of Violence)

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                          • #14
                            God knows I need a new car.
                            Lets always remember the passangers on United Flight 93, true heroes in every sense of the word!

                            (Quick! Someone! Anyone! Sava! Come help! )-mrmitchell

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Fez


                              So kiddo is again overstating everything and acting like a communist.
                              Please don't call me that. I'm plenty old enough to be your father.
                              I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
                              - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

                              Comment

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