US consumer confidence jumps to near five-year high

US consumer confidence jumped to an almost five-year high in October, according to a closely-watched survey.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 72.2, up from 68.4 in September, largely due to improvements in the US jobs market.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20172270

Consumer confidence indicators

• Overall consumer confidence was -28 in September 2012, according to GfK NOP. It has been at much the same level for the last year.

• Between August and September 2012 the overall UK economic sentiment index, as published by the European Commission, increased by 0.4 points to 91.9. The euro zone index decreased by 1.1 points to 85.0, its lowest level since 2009.

• In September 2012, more manufacturers thought that output would rise over the next three months than thought it would fall – the difference was 7% of firms. This is up from +0% of firms in August.

http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN02817

Job woes hit consumer confidence

Consumer confidence fell in February amid worries over jobs and the wider the economy, according to the the latest survey from Nationwide.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17485394

UK consumer confidence

Interesting article from tutor2u about consumer confidence and the role it plays -

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/hopes-and-fears-2012?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:07:32:19Z

Nationwide consumer confidence indicator -

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CDC78B62-32B5-4DB6-B440-13ACD1BD94DB/0/NCCI_November_2011.pdf

Why Consumer spending is down

Several major retailers are reporting disappointing results in their pre-Christmas sales.

Tesco shares dropped 10% after it issued its first profit warning in living memory.

Mothercare, Argos and Halfords are among other big names who have been hit hard.

Shoppers in Southampton have been explaining how they have been prioritising their spending.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16525438

US consumer confidence falls sharply

US consumer confidence slumped in August to its lowest level since April 2009, according to the latest monthly Conference Board report.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14725379

What makes consumers confident?

Interesting BBC article:
Measuring optimism - For instance, if you took just the health of the economy, you might think that consumers would feel the least confident when a country was in recession.

But according to the Nationwide, consumer confidence hit an all-time low in February 2011, more than a year after the recession officially ended.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13207242

Consumer spending is dropping says Primark

Weaker sales at John Lewis are one thing – they can be explained away by the squeezed middle classes trading down. But if teenagers and young mums are having second thoughts about a £2 vest at Primark, that suggests consumer spending is tanking.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/28/primark-high-street

Nationwide consumer confidence index Jan 2011

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2A5B2595-961E-457B-B879-433FC99D7EC8/0/ConsumerConfidenceJanuary2011.pdf

Nationwide consumer confidence

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BFA1E543-8A2D-4F48-A068-D4F09681FD10/0/ConsumerConfidenceNovember2010.pdf

Consumer confidence falls leading to fall in spending

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/oct/13/consumer-spending-falls-worries-cuts

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/consumer_confidence/latest_release/default.htm

Consumer confidence up but fears linger

Consumer confidence has edged up to its highest level for two-and-a-half years - but many Britons are still worried about the economy, jobs, bills and debt, says a new survey by the Retail Consumer Consortium.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Consumer-Confidence-Highest-Since-November-2007---But-Many-People-Still-Worried-About-Economy/Article/201005215631729?lpos=Business_Third_Buisness_Article_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15631729_Consumer_Confidence_Highest_Since_November_2007_-_But_Many_People_Still_Worried_About_Economy

British Retail Consortium report on consumer confidence:

http://www.brc.org.uk/details04.asp?id=1738

Nationwide Consumer Confidence:

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8251A326-D691-4185-8595-9A387DDFA11D/0/ConsumerConfidenceApril2010.pdf

Consumer confidence slips

The Nationwide Consumer Confidence barometer shows that consumer confidence has slipped since February.

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/FAC03F1D-9E8E-46B1-92E2-7372C17FDEFE/0/MarchConsumerConfidence15April2010.pdf

Latest Nationwide Consumer Confidence barometer

Following a small dip at the end of 2009, consumers have started this year in a more optimistic fashion with February's figures showing a surge in confidence in both the present and future situation. A strong influencing factor behind this uplift is likely to be the news that the UK has come out of its longest recession on record
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/consumer_confidence/latest_release/default.htm

Cautious consumers fear tax rises

Consumer spending is the main short term driver of demand in the British economy so the expectations and confidence levels within the household sector will be pivotal in determing the speed of any revival in demand during 2010.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/cautious-consumers-fear-tax-rises/

Consumer confidence indicators

The Nationwide consumer confidence barometer:

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/6195FA56-F573-4BB2-AF8F-8C515C41DAA3/0/NovemberNCCI_9Dec09.pdf

2 - Decreasing consumer confidence

Retail figures have suffered their biggest drop since records began 22 years ago.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7523571.stm