Joanne Hsu

Honestly, [sighs] it is rough out there.

Dr. Joanne Hsu, the director of the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Survey, she just released their early October data.

US consumer sentiment just plunged to a five-month low of 46.3.

Oof.

Consumers also expect prices to rise over the next year.

University of Michigan Director of Consumer Surveys Joanne Hsu says the markets and the massive amounts of money spent on AI don't really have much of an impact on the regular consumer.

Right now, there's support coming from stock markets, but only for wealthy consumers.

Uh, for middle income, middle wealth, lower wealth consumers who don't own substantial stock, that stock market doesn't help them at all.

The current conditions gauge sank to 44.7. That's the lowest on record, and consumers expect prices to rise over the next year.

Joanne Hsu is University of Michigan Director of Consumer Surveys.

She says the divide among political parties is getting smaller.

Overall, consumers are all in agreement, across the political spectrum are in agreement that the outlook for the economy has declined since the beginning of the year, and that continues to be the case.

Consumers expect prices to rise over the next year.

Joanne Hsu is University of Michigan Director of Consumer Surveys.

We should read today's reading as essentially very little change from last month.

Uh, we see buying conditions for all major purchases, not just durables, but cars and homes as well, uh, coming down, uh, near historic lows on the basis not just of high prices, which consumers have been unhappy about for quite some time, but now higher borrowing costs.

That is the lowest on record, and consumers expect prices to rise over the coming year.

Joanne Hsu is University of Michigan Director of Consumer Surveys.

She says the divide among political parties is starting to shrink.

Overall, consumers are all in agreement across the political spectrum, are in agreement that the outlook for the economy has declined since the beginning of the year, and that continues to be the case.

Consumers expect prices to rise over the next year.

Joanne Hsu is University of Michigan Director of Consumer Surveys.

We should read today's reading as essentially very little change from last month.

Uh, we see buying conditions for all major purchases, not just durables, but cars and homes as well, uh, coming down, uh, near historic lows on the basis not just of high prices, which consumers have been unhappy about for quite some time, but now higher borrowing costs.

Consumers also expect prices to rise over the coming year.

University of Michigan Director of Consumer Surveys Joanne Hsu says buying conditions for major purchases, including cars, have fallen near historic lows.

Hsu says the markets and the massive amounts of money being spent on AI not having much of an impact on the regular consumer.

Right now, there's support coming from stock markets, but only for wealthy consumers.

It all speaks to a consumer that is feeling the economic pitch, even if the economic data, as the White House suggests, including the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, uh, still shows that things are hanging in there.

And to get into, uh, why these readings are the way they are when the data is holding up, Danny Berger spoke to Joanne Hsu of the University of Michigan, she's their director of consumer surveys, and gave Danny some more insight.

Here's part of their conversation.

We should read today's reading as essentially very little change from last month.

... to our, our conversations-

Yeah

... with Joanne Hsu and, and Jeanne Shanezano-

Yeah