The stock market has notched a remarkable recovery from its early-April lows, delivering healthy double-digit returns in the wake of mounting optimism that stimulus from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Fed interest rate cuts offset tariff headwinds. Major market returns since April 8 lows: S&P 500: 32.7% Nasdaq: 46.7% Dow Jones Industrial Average: 22.4% The rally has lifted the major market averages, including the S&P 500 benchmark index, to all-time highs in September, frustrating many bears who ...

Corrections & Clarifications:  An earlier version of this story misspelled Jeremy Horpedahl's name.   America’s middle class is spooked about the economy. Consumer confidence has been falling for most of the past year. On a closely watched University of Michigan index, consumer sentiment sagged to 55.4 in September, down from 70.1 a year ago. Economic anxiety runs "particularly strong among lower- and middle-income consumers," said Joanne Hsu, director of the Michigan surveys. Another index of consu ...

South African consumer confidence fell in the third quarter as middle-income household finances came under strain https://t.co/MRDP6NWuY8 ...

French consumer confidence remained weak in September, reflecting heightened uncertainty after a second government collapse in less than a year https://t.co/i0Iz4HClt8 ...

South Korea’s consumer confidence dropped for the first time since March, as concerns over higher US tariffs on the export-dependent economy and persistent weakness in construction weighed on sentiment, the central bank said https://t.co/Y3eUOH7SuN ...

U.S. workers are becoming increasingly concerned about their financial health, according to a Bank of America Workplace Benefits Report. Of the 1,000 respondents polled by BofA, 47% full-time workers reported having a sense of economic well-being, down from 52% at the start of 2025 [1]. Must Read What are they most concerned about? Nearly half of respondents (45%) report having no emergency savings and 85% report carrying some type of personal debt, including credit card debt. Many are also concerned a ...

Let's get the final big economic data point of the week when you miss with Rick Santali. Hey Rick. Yeah, you know this has a whiff of stagflation to it folks.University of Michigan sentiment and all the inflation numbers the preliminary SE but could still change 55.4% in headline. We're expecting a number well north of that and rearview mirror 582. So sequentially lower lowest since May of 25 612 on current conditions. Same scenario, less than expected, less than last look, sequentially lower, also the lowe ...

Group 1 - The consumer confidence index in the U.S. dropped nearly 6% in August, ending a two-month recovery trend [1] - The primary victims of this decline are middle-class families, particularly those with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000, whose confidence levels are nearing those of low-income groups [3] - Retail giant Walmart reported that middle and low-income consumers are strictly controlling spending, with a significant decrease in non-essential items in their shopping carts [3] Group 2 - The restaurant industry is feeling the pressure, with chain restaurant executives noting that middle-class customers are actively seeking discounts and opting for cheaper menu items [6] - Fast food chains have seen an increase in traffic from middle-class customers shifting to lower-priced restaurants, while low-income customer visits have decreased [6] - High-income consumers continue to show strong spending, with airlines reporting robust sales of premium tickets and a contrasting weakness in economy class [6] Group 3 - A survey indicates that over 70% of respondents plan to further cut their spending in the coming year, surpassing the levels seen during the inflation surge in 2022 [9] - High-income groups are more likely to maintain their spending habits, while middle and low-income families are forced to adjust their spending structures [9] - This trend of consumer spending differentiation is expected to persist and have profound impacts on the overall economy [9]

How do you see Malibu boots after you spent a year there. And as we come to like an inflection point, maybe for four rates, is that important to you. Rates are important, important to us.I see Malibu boats in a good position. Matt, honestly, you know, as we were, you know, looking at the market and the consumers is, you know, still struggling a little bit with the elevated rates and so on, We're in a good position. We have capacity. We have invested in our capacity over the last few years.We have new models ...

So, Yvonne, the South African consumer consumption, we're seeing it steadily up based on some of these charts and the research that you have. Why are we seeing that reflected, though, in the growth story. Yes.So it's good point. We're seeing through some of the proxies, including retail sales, that it's been a return to growth from about a year ago and that's been accelerating. The reason we're not seeing it yet in the GDP numbers is because gross fixed capital formation, which is essentially investment is ...