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Despite Plunge In Spending, Consumer Confidence Jumps To 7-Year High

Tyler Durden's picture




 

The final UMich consumer confidence print (after preliminary 86.4) is higher again at 86.9 - the highest since July 2007. Ofcourse hope rose - future expectations up from 75.4 to 79.6) while current situation dropped (98.9 to 98.3)... as we all know escape velocity and wage gains (despite tumbling spending and slowing income in reality).

 

 

 

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Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:04 | 5398123 BadDog
BadDog's picture

The futures so bright I gotta wear shades.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:11 | 5398150 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture

 

 

It's all good until the EBT network goes down.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 18:52 | 5399997 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

It was due to the $20 social security COLA that was recently announced

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:11 | 5398152 Divided States ...
Divided States of America's picture

Mid term elections decoration....the markets are going to sky till early 2015 at least...i mean we got Halloween tonight, 'Thankstaking' soon and then its Christmas season and you know I am expecting my new Iphone and accessories as a gift.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:32 | 5398237 maskone909
maskone909's picture

The consumer is a dumb fucking cow

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:09 | 5398641 de3de8
de3de8's picture

What an insult to cows

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:32 | 5398240 Spastica Rex
Spastica Rex's picture

Christmas has been renamed Consumermas.

It's inclusive that way, since everybody in America belongs to that religion.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:47 | 5398305 Jstanley011
Jstanley011's picture

Frontrunning Republican gains now, then a Santa Clause rally later, you may be right. I'm thinking "sell in May and go away" could be more important than ususal next year.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 17:50 | 5399856 cynicalskeptic
cynicalskeptic's picture

Purely a coincidence that mid term elections are next week...

Wait for the downward adjustments to all the 'good' news - AFTER elections of course.  We live in a world of porpaganda.  NYT going on about DEFLATION woes - blatantly ignoring the redefining of CPI numbers into uselessness and the very real INFLATION you see every day in the grocery store.  You've got DEFLATION in all the things you DON'T need while inflation is occurring with the things you DO need (with the exceptionof oil at the moment thanks to massive pumping by the Saudis as part of US efforts against Russia and all the 'bad' Muslims)

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:05 | 5398131 Callz d Ballz
Callz d Ballz's picture

Yes, yes, because a 451 FICO gets you a new vette.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:12 | 5398158 astoriajoe
astoriajoe's picture

wouldn't surprise me a bit.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:17 | 5398172 ZH Snob
ZH Snob's picture

yes, cheap $ and easy credit does wonders for the psyche.  all I can say is anyone who loves this sand castle deserves to get washed away with it.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:43 | 5398138 Doubleguns
Doubleguns's picture

I say its time to run up the BS flag. Actually its overdue. 

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 17:52 | 5399861 cynicalskeptic
cynicalskeptic's picture

Don't confuse BS with conscious attempts to control behavior ....... MOPE - management of perspective economics - controlling what people think and see to influence their behavior.  

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:07 | 5398141 FreeShitter
FreeShitter's picture

It must be I still see alot of people in new cars all over the place, smells like 2007 all over again right before the big one.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:34 | 5398253 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Cars

Electronics

Appliances

Furniture

Anything will be financed now to hold up the numbers. Low FICO? All good! They make way more on those deals.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:08 | 5398144 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Buy Mortimer, BUY!!

Buy what?

EVERYTHING!!

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:12 | 5398156 Callz d Ballz
Callz d Ballz's picture

NoD, going to be an interesting EOY prospectus heh?

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:18 | 5398185 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

C'mon, baby ONE more quarter.  Just ONE more!

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:22 | 5398197 Callz d Ballz
Callz d Ballz's picture

Yeah, just pray you get through the holidays at this point...

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 17:52 | 5399864 cynicalskeptic
cynicalskeptic's picture

They've been faking it for so long they don't know what a REAL recovery feels like......

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:11 | 5398147 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Is every article this morning written by MDB?  I feel like I'm living INSIDE an MDB post right now.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:26 | 5398211 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

It does feel like we have entered the Twilight Zone. Some think they can keep the charade going into 2015. We're not so sure. JPM lost 41% of their gold reserves over the last WEEK. Look for them to crank up ebola to 11 immediately after the elections. Then there's the Swiss vote, which could be a financial Krakatoa.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:11 | 5398154 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

It's nice to see the CON is back in the confidence game.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:22 | 5398201 Son of Loki
Son of Loki's picture

It's paradoxical ... sort of like some of Freeden's comments.

 

[but i think it has to do with high levels of lithium in the drinking water + EBT bonus cards]

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:32 | 5398238 Wait What
Wait What's picture

they can't offload all the garbage without convincing the sheeple that things are getting better and it's time to buy. just remember what happened in 2007 and who was holding the bag in 2008. "expectations are for another banner year"

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:11 | 5398155 gatorengineer
gatorengineer's picture

Michigan must be a nice place, things sure dont look good here on the east coast....

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:13 | 5398167 astoriajoe
astoriajoe's picture

When I look at the presentation for CMS Energy (Michigan utility) the numbers they list for economic activity in MI seem suspect to me. anyone else seen this?

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:14 | 5398169 NOZZLE
NOZZLE's picture

Maybe they are confident because Hussein Shinola Ebola is about to get tossed on his ass.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:16 | 5398174 TideFighter
TideFighter's picture

I just sold my overpriced condo that I couldn't make 1% ROI on to a guy who is going to "gut the place" and put 150k in renovations to rent to the same people that have been coming here for the last ten years. Every available lot (beach area) has a house starting on it in excess of 1 million. Makes no sense.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:39 | 5398271 JRobby
JRobby's picture

To you and I no.

To the Banksters, yes!

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:18 | 5398184 Hohum
Hohum's picture

I think it's time to show a graph juxtaposing the S & P 500 with consumer confidence.  And another between gas prices (inverse) and consumer confidence.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:20 | 5398190 A82EBA
A82EBA's picture

s&p 2014

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:20 | 5398191 A82EBA
A82EBA's picture

DP

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:20 | 5398192 replaceme
replaceme's picture

All I hear is Idiocracy - Yeah, I like money.  Chart consumer confidence with incidence of head injury for fun...

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 11:02 | 5398378 Bemused Observer
Bemused Observer's picture

I'm waiting for California to announce a solution to their water problems and passing a law requiring farmers to water their crops with Gatorade.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:27 | 5398209 orangegeek
orangegeek's picture

yellen has a sex tape

 

film at 11p

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:32 | 5398239 CoastalCowboy
CoastalCowboy's picture

The poll consisted of a random sample of Banksters and their minions around the Hamptons. Then they just add in a bunch of sampled randomly government workers and contractors in a 50 mile ring around Rome on the Potomac. For the final act, survey some very carefully vetted and certified as idiot level intelligence random members of the FSA from sea to shining sea to get a perfect sample of our corporatist modern USA.

Fuck the middle class!

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:44 | 5398264 BrosephStiglitz
BrosephStiglitz's picture

Consumer confidence high.. yet we are still staring down deflation.  Gee.  Hmm.  Almost like something other than a willingness to consume is reducing the velocity of money.  (Hint: taxes and interest payments via high household debt levels are eating away at people's real ability to consume.)

Somebody get me zombie-Keynes on the phone.  Looks like his moronic school of thought is only right a small fraction of the time.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:58 | 5398361 Bemused Observer
Bemused Observer's picture

The trouble with polls...They never ask the right questions. What IS "consumer confidence" anyway? The pollsters assume that means they are ready to go shopping. But maybe they're confident because they're starting to get the idea that deflation IS a real possibility?
In that case, they'd be holding onto their money and waiting. Paying down some debt, if they can. Neither of which puts any money into the hands of the market. No velocity there. As a consumer, I see falling gas prices and wonder how that will filter through to other things. I also wonder how desperate retailers might get this holiday season...might pay to step back, wait things out a bit. Caution is the word.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 11:36 | 5398393 BrosephStiglitz
BrosephStiglitz's picture

Well it's true that polls can frame or present information incorrectly.  Or be subject to all sorts of bias.

However, do you see a willingness to not consume around you in day to day?  I live in a city.  People are still out spending and living it up like everything is great.

Deflation is here because people simply have less disposable income after debt payments and taxes.

We're on a long-term trajectory for feudalism.  A society of braindead consumers shuffling to our own enslavement.

Here's a poll for the average dumbed down individual:

If you won the lottery jackpot tomorrow, would you?
A) Spend it all. (Because nobody lives forever!)
B) Invest it into something genuinely productive.
C) Pay down outstanding debts and then spend it all.

How many do you think would pick B?

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:11 | 5398653 Bemused Observer
Bemused Observer's picture

Living in a city may give you a skewed idea of spending patterns. Because retail tends to congregate in high-density areas, you are also drawing from outlying areas. People will still shop, even in a sharp downturn, and those that do will still keep your stores fairly busy. It will be harder for you to see the magnitude of the downturn until it gets REAL bad.
You need to go to those outlying areas and see the empty strip malls, the For Rent signs on empty storefronts, the painful lack of activity in the small business districts.

In answer to your question, keep in mind that people tend to act in their own interests (and keep Occam's Razor in mind when you're talking about human nature), and will adjust to most circumstances. So, of course they wouldn't pick B...what sense would THAT make in today's economic environment?
Why would anyone be surprised that those folks would choose an option most likely to benefit THEM?
For those who presume to govern, the obvious solution would be to figure out how to make the 'B' choice the one most likely to benefit that person. Then, he will CHOOSE that. And there ARE ways to do that, but too much resistance to doing them.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:41 | 5398284 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Question in the survey now weighted 100%:

"I plan to spend much more in the coming 4 quarters"    choices: Very Likely, Most Definitely, For Sure, It's a Lock

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:42 | 5398285 venturen
venturen's picture

FULL RETARD! Just like flipping houses to the moon. The FED never saw it coming!

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:42 | 5398290 venturen
venturen's picture

Wait till it is 110% confidence!

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:48 | 5398319 GoBadgers
GoBadgers's picture

I know I'm preaching to the choir and therefore stating the obvious, but these macro data points that come out one day negative, the next day positive, make absolutely no sense at all.

I've been out of the market for the last 2+ years, I know I've missed upside, though I haven't missed the upside of being able to sleep at night. I just seems that this a ponzi that will never reach the inevitable conclusion......

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 11:01 | 5398375 Callz d Ballz
Callz d Ballz's picture

The pervasive feeling right before capitulation, you're not alone.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 10:48 | 5398320 Questan1913
Questan1913's picture

All financial polling data is fraudulent; in other words IT'S ALL LIES 24/7 365 days a year.  Every single government statistic from GDP to INFLATION to UNEMPLOYMENT.  Why even discuss it?  What is it within US that is so infatuated with this lie machine and its product?  Is it entertaining?  The entire engine of plunder and its success in plundering us is founded on this structure of LIES.  IF we know this and do not take action, what is our problem? 

Are willing victims........really victims?

 

Consensual sex is not rape.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 18:02 | 5399885 cynicalskeptic
cynicalskeptic's picture

The US public are a bunch of submissive masochists - getting reamed with a splintered telephone pole over and over and still asking for more....

seriously.... 'free trade' sends all our jobs overseas, market crashes steal your pensions, 401K's and savings, while gov rewards the looters and thiefs...

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 11:32 | 5398485 razorthin
razorthin's picture

Yes, I believe that they actually conducted this survey and that these are the actual results of said survey.

/sarc

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:14 | 5398659 flapdoodle
flapdoodle's picture

I would actually feel better if the numbers *were* lies. What really frightens me is if the survey is genuine.

The sheeple are the ultimate contra-indicator. If with all the things going in the financial world, in Ukraine, in Syria/Iraq, and in Africa with Ebola they still genuinely believe things are getting better, it means we are doomed.

Prepare for impact...

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:30 | 5398697 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

Today's other story:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-consumers-cut-spending-1414758842

U.S. Consumers Cut Spending for First Time Since January Move Raises Doubts About Sustainability of Summer’s Economic Growth  12 COMMENTS ENLAAmericans cut sp

WASHINGTON—Americans cut their spending in September after stepping up shopping in midsummer, a sign of consumer restraint that could limit the economy’s growth in coming months.

Overall household spending fell 0.2% last month from August, the first decline since January and only the third since the recession ended in mid-2009, the Commerce Department said Friday. The drop followed a healthy 0.5% gain a month earlier and reflected Americans purchasing fewer big-ticket items like cars.

Americans’ overall income—including money from wages, investments and government aid—climbed 0.2%, the smallest increase of the year.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted a 0.1% rise in consumer spending and a 0.3% increase in income.

The report offered red flags on the economy’s strength just a day after a strong reading on third-quarter economic growth. The government reported Thursday that gross domestic product grew at a 3.5% annual rate in July through September, but Friday’s report suggests the economy softened heading into the fourth quarter.

Economists said the drop in consumer spending likely represented a temporary setback rather than a more ominous sign of a broad slowdown. Many families may have tightened up after a busy summer of shopping, including a surge in August of car sales. But spending is bound to pick up in the fourth quarter, some economists said.

“The monthly pattern points to a deceleration in spending momentum,” TD Economics economist Andrew Labelle said in a note to clients, adding that weak income growth remains a concern. “We remain confident that a tightening labor market will eventually lead to faster income growth, but clearly this has yet to manifest itself, and may take several more months to occur.”

Underscoring broad economic sluggishness, Friday’s report also showed U.S. inflation remains below the Federal Reserve’s annual 2% target. The price index for personal consumption expenditures—the Fed’s preferred inflation measure-rose 0.1% from August and 1.4% from a year earlier. Excluding food and energy components, so-called “core” prices climbed 0.1% over the month and 1.5% over the year.

Consumer spending is the biggest force for economic growth in the U.S., accounting for more than two-thirds of output. But while the overall economy has gained steam over the past six months, consumers continue to show restraint.

 

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:42 | 5398750 Bunga Bunga
Bunga Bunga's picture

Even if it was real, it's a lagging indicator. When the croud is in good mood - time for big money to sell.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:48 | 5398781 edifice
edifice's picture

As a consumer, I am confident that I am not spending anything. Paradox-no-more.

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 20:41 | 5400327 theyjustcantstop
theyjustcantstop's picture

a con game isn't a con game unless your caught.

same as unemployment numbers in 3rd quarter in election years, there is at least 250,000 tele-marketers, and repeat voters hired.

 

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 20:55 | 5400373 theyjustcantstop
theyjustcantstop's picture

a con game isn't a con game unless your caught.

same as unemployment numbers in 3rd quarter in election years, there is at least 250,000 tele-marketers, and repeat voters hired.

nsa provdes contact #'s for Umich.

 

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