Consumer Dynamics Briefs
2021
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October Retail Sales Robust as Holiday Period Begins
November 16 | Erik Lundh, Senior Economist, Global, The Conference Board | Comments (0)Retail spending in October rose $10.7 billion to $638.2 billion for the month – up 1.7 percent from the previous month and up 16.3 percent from a year earlier.
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FOMC Meeting Reaction – Fed Begins Taper, Disagrees Over Inflation
November 03 | Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist and Leader, Economy, Strategy & Finance Center, The Conference Board | Comments (0)As expected, the Fed announced the start of tapering of its large-scale asset purchases program (LSAP), and exhibited a more hawkish tone on inflation at its November meeting.
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Are Consumer Expectations Signaling Recession?
November 01 | Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist and Leader, Economy, Strategy & Finance Center, The Conference Board | Lynn Franco, Former Senior Director, Economic Indicators and Surveys, The Conference Board | Comments (0)US consumer expectations as measured by The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index ticked up in October, but this followed three months of declines. Did the declines signal recession in 2022 or just a hiccup related to the Delta variant? We propose the latter.
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September Spending, Income, and Inflation Data Mixed
October 29 | Erik Lundh, Senior Economist, Global, The Conference Board | Comments (0)Comment on Personal Income & Outlays report for September – Erik Lundh, Principal Economist, The Conference Board
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September retail sales continued to rise as Delta wave ebbs
October 15 | Erik Lundh, Senior Economist, Global, The Conference Board | Comments (0)Retail spending in September rose $4.6 billion to $625.4 billion for the month – up 0.7 percent from the previous month and up 13.9 percent from a year earlier. These improvements were not merely a function of rising prices: adjusted for inflation, sales were up 0.3 percent month-over-month and 8.1 percent year-over-year. As the severity of the Delta wave continues to abate, these data suggest that American consumers still have an appetite to spend as we enter the last quarter of the year.
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Resilient August Income & Spending Growth Point to Strong Close to 2021
October 01 | Erik Lundh, Senior Economist, Global, The Conference Board | Comments (0)August Personal Income & Outlays data, released this morning, show an economy that continues to grow despite the impact of the Delta variant.
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What If? The Government Shuts Down and/or We Hit the Debt Ceiling
October 01 | Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist and Leader, Economy, Strategy & Finance Center, The Conference Board | Joseph J. Minarik, Former Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) | Erik Lundh, Senior Economist, Global, The Conference Board | Comments (0)The US Congress is currently locked in discussions on continuing to fund Federal government operations and whether to either raise or suspend the debt ceiling. We have been here before, and it has always worked out—with more or less pain along the way. Indeed, Congress has passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the Federal government through December 3, 2021. What if come December, we find ourselves on the brink once again? Also, what happens if we hit the public debt ceiling?
