Core Insights - Consumer spending growth has shown signs of slowing down, with recent data indicating that retail sales were flat in December, falling short of expectations after several months of robust growth [2][9] - The labor market is weakening, with fewer jobs being added and layoffs increasing, which could significantly impact consumer spending in 2026 [5][10] - The wealth effect, driven by higher stock prices and increasing housing wealth, has supported consumer spending, but a potential slowdown in the stock market may lead to reduced spending [6][7] Economic Impact - Consumer spending constitutes about two-thirds of the U.S. economy, meaning even slight slowdowns can have a substantial effect on overall economic activity [3][4] - The recent flat retail sales data suggests that the holiday shopping season was less favorable for some retailers, which could have implications for corporate profits and stock prices [8][9] - Economists have noted that a combination of slower real disposable personal income growth, a softening labor market, and declining saving rates may be diminishing consumers' willingness and ability to spend [10]

India is taking major steps to overhaul its key statistics to better capture the rapid expansion in consumer spending over the past decade https://t.co/N5EiBbnElC ...

Gen Zers and millennials are swimming in student debt and may never own homes, but they’re splurging on gut-healthy juices and rotisserie chickens. https://t.co/0IkcZI6Ydn ...

🚨BREAKING: US CONSUMER SPENDING SLOWS AS DECEMBER RETAIL SALES MISS EXPECTATIONSDelayed Commerce Department data released today showed December retail sales were unchanged at $735B, well below the 0.4% growth economists expected.Sales fell across autos, furniture, electronics, and clothing, categories hit hard by tariffs in 2025. Year over year growth slowed to 2.4%, below December's 2.7% CPI.Full year 2025 retail sales were still up 3.7%, though economists note growth was heavily driven by higher-income co ...

Group 1 - The company forecasted full-year profit below Wall Street expectations after missing fourth-quarter estimates [1] - Weak discretionary spending has negatively impacted toy demand [1]

MATT: 30 MINUTES UNTIL THE START OF THE CASH TRADE WITH NOTHING CHANGED IN FUTURES. I’M MATT MILLER. DANI: "BLOOMBERG OPEN INTEREST" STARTS RIGHT NOW.COMING UP, GLOBAL SPENDING ON A. I. CONTINUES TO BOOM, WHILE ALPHABET ATTRACTS BILLIONS IN A MEGA BOND SPREE.FROM COCA-COLA TO CHALLENGES, INVESTORS WAVE THROUGH EARNINGS REPORTS. MATT: AND U.S. RETAIL SALES UNEXPECTEDLY INSTALLED IN DECEMBER, SUGGESTING A MORE CAUTIOUS CONSUMER AS THE YEAR DREW TO A CLOSE. DANI: SO MAYBE SPENDING ISN’T ALL THAT GREAT.MAYBE PE ...

All right, let's talk a little bit more about kind of where the money is being spent in the economy right now. The market, of course, this week is awaiting key data on payrolls and inflation. Based on what you're seeing in terms of your 68 million consumer customers and 3 million businesses that you serve, do you think we're at an inflection point in either of those key data points.>> Look, I I see that there's a lot of talk about the retail sales number for December. It's midFebruary. Let me tell you that ...

Welcome to Morning Brief. I'm Julie Hyman. Here's what you need to know today.First up, US stocks are trading near record highs ahead of key economic data, including the US jobs report and the latest read on inflation. This morning, we already got an economic data report. Retail sales from December showing no growth.And we're going to talk much more about the state of the consumer throughout the show. Plus, investors are betting on another century of Google parent Alphabet. According to reports, Alphabet se ...

US consumers unexpectedly held their spending steady in December as the labor market stagnated and feelings about the economy slipped. https://t.co/EM0NeKVSoW https://t.co/KYauWr8gzs ...

IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF THE BACKDROP FROM THE CONSUMER. JONATHAN: THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, "IN MANY WAYS WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS AND THE NEXT FEW WEEKS SHOULD BE TELLING FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2026." CHRISTINA, JOINS US FOR MORE, THAT WAS NOT AT -- THAT WAS NOT A NICE DATA POINT ON RETAIL SALES. KRISTINA: THE DATA REMAINS NOISY AND WE KNOW WE ARE CONTINUING TO BALANCE THE INFLATION AND A LABOR MARKET BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A BIFURCATION OF THE CONSUMER.WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE K-SHAPED RECOVERY. WE KNOW THAT TH ...