There was a time when it took at least some digging to cut through the manipulated headline data. Not so much any more. The latest UMichicagn consumer confidence data point is out, and it being an election year and all, and there needing to be some immediate validation of the massive stock surge in the aftermath of our own Gideon Gono going full retard, posted the biggest positive surprise to expectations in well... ever, printing at 79.2, on expectations of 74.0, up from 74.3. This was the highest print since May, which occurted not on the conditions component, but the expectations, which soared from 65.1 to 73.4. And here is the punchline: why did consumers get more confident? Because in the period from the last month they priced in more... drumroll... deflation! 1 and 5 year inflation expectations declined from 3.6% and 3.0%, to 3.5% and 2.8%. And that's how we know they don't even bother to mask the lies any more.
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Monthly surprise to expectations via John Lohman: nuf said.
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