Announcer:
4 Your Money is brought to you by NelsonCorp Wealth Management.
Brandy Auterson-Hurst:
It’s now time for 4 Your Money. We’re joined by David Nelson, CEO of NelsonCorp Wealth Management.
Welcome back, David.
David Nelson:
Thanks, Brandy. Appreciate it.
Brandy Auterson-Hurst:
So what are some of the things you’re seeing in the data right now when it comes to consumers and the economy?
David Nelson:
Well, one thing we’re clearly seeing when we talk to clients about is the frustration around inflation, the cost of living, the uncertainty about jobs. The chart I brought along today is a terrific chart. It’s done by the University of Michigan and it’s looking at sentiment. The survey basically asks households how they feel about the economy, about their finances, inflation, and the job prospects.
As we can see, it’s at the lowest level that we’ve seen going back to the ’50s. So this is not something that typically we would see in a situation like this. But, readings typically of this level are showing extreme economic stress. And one of the main reasons that we see is it’s the idea of inflation and the impact that that’s having on people. Job related concerns is also weighing on this confidence measurement.
But the bottom line from the chart is that sentiment is stabilized somewhat recently, but confidence still remains very low by historical levels.
Brandy Auterson-Hurst:
Okay. So what does that kind of negativity mean for investors and the stock market?
David Nelson:
Well, and I think probably most people have heard me discuss this before, but markets look ahead. So this is measuring today and how people feel today. But markets basically ignore that. They’re looking ahead as far as in trying to make decisions. So we don’t know for sure. I mean, typically when you get negative numbers like this, it’s weighing in a lot of the current bad news. So I wouldn’t do anything drastic either direction like I typically bring up to people. But the bottom line is this is not something that you like to see in the economy that hopefully is booming.
Brandy Auterson-Hurst:
All right. David, thanks for your insight today.
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