Americans’ Confidence “Expectations” Tumble To 2019 Lows

In August, Americans were the most confident about the current situation since November 2000 (as expectations for the future dipped), but headline confidence was expected to slide in September and did, far more than expected:

• Headline consumer confidence fell to 125.1 vs 133.0 last month

• Present situation confidence fell to 169.0 vs 176.0 last month

• Consumer confidence expectations fell to 95.8 vs 106.4 last month

This is the biggest drop in ‘expectations’ since Dec 2018 as stocks plummeted.

Source: Bloomberg

The Labor Differential indicator dipped (after exploding higher in August back near record highs).

All age cohorts saw confidence slide, but higher income Americans confidence dropped notably as lower incomes rose modestly.

Buying plans weakened for homes, cars, and large appliances.

However, this level of decoupling between savings and confidence has historically not ended well…

Source: Bloomberg

Still, as long as The Fed and Trump can keep jawboning stocks near recorder and recorder highs, what could go wrong?