Mixed Bag: Consumer Confidence Falls But Not as Much as Expected

     I put it this way as it really is a good way of crystallizing what it's like parsing through economic data. There's always the glass half full and the glass half empty story.

     Yes, the index for consumer sentiment fell to it's lowest in a year, however, it was expected to fall even further than it did.

    "The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 72.3 from 73.2 in June. It the second month in a row attitudes have cooled and the lowest level since December."

    "That was a touch higher than economists' expectations for it to hold steady with July's preliminary reading of 72. "

     

      http://www.cnbc.com/id/48351752

      Just like in the previous post we saw that while U.S. 2nd quarter GDP was 1.5% it was still higher than the expected 1.3%.

      http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2012/07/us-2nd-quarter-gdp-at-15-better-than.html

      For now though, the markets seem to be taking a glass half full attitude. No doubt part of this is the hope the Fed will act. In some more good news. the Euro rallied in the face of news that Hollande and Merkel had a phone call where they both vowed to do what it takes to save the euro.

     Time will tell if they're realy on the same page finally or this just sounds good.

     Core inflation came in at only 1.8%. Not exactly "galloping inflation" as the hawks worry.

    "While Americans did not expect another recession, half thought the economy had worsened in the past year. Confidence in economic policies remained near all-time lows with just 11 percent giving a positive view."

     "The survey's barometer of current economic conditions edged up to 82.7 from 81.5, while the gauge of consumer expectations slipped to 65.6 from 67.8."

     "The one-year inflation expectation fell to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent. The five-to-10-year inflation outlook eased to 2.7 percent from 2.8 percent, suggesting consumers expect food price increases to be temporary."

     "While consumers do not anticipate an economy-wide recessionary decline, they do not expect a pace of economic growth that could satisfactorily revive job and income prospects," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement. "Moreover, consumers have become increasingly convinced that current economic policies are incapable of solving the underlying problems facing the economy."