Consumers

Stocks held by consumer-lending firms fell last week after Wall Street executives warned of lower-income borrowers’ struggling to pay bills. What Happened: Banking executives at a recent Barclays conference in New York noted how delinquencies are on the rise, the Wall Street Journal reported...

The average American consumer is more optimistic than expected in September, data shows. According to the University of Michigan’s September Survey of Consumers, the consumer sentiment index rose to its highest level in four months, surpassing economic estimates. This surge reflects...

The consumer outlook for the remainder of 2024 appears to be robust as a firm labor demand indicates higher wages that will lead to more disposable personal income, according to a Goldman Sachs analyst. Despite a higher unemployment rate in April, there is a surplus of 1.6 million jobs in the U.S....

Credit delinquency is on the rise. High credit card rates and enduring inflation are hurting consumers, especially those considered “Gen Z.” Here’s the latest New York Fed data about the American consumer. The Data: The New York Fed's Center for Microeconomic Data released its...

The Census Bureau is expected to publish U.S. retail sales data for April prior to the start of Tuesday's trading session.  Here are five key takeaways for investors ahead of the report and analyst reactions to past releases.  What Investors Need To Know Economists expect retail...

As of early Friday, the University of Michigan announced the preliminary results for October’s Surveys of Consumers. What Happened: The index for consumer sentiment and current economic conditions slightly rose by 2% and 9.4% month-over-month, respectively. This can be attributed to a 23%...

Retail investors hoping for a busy holiday shopping season will either be extremely encouraged or discouraged, and it all depends upon who they listen to. According to Gadfly's Shelly Banjo, retailers are saying their outlook for the holiday season is the "shakiest" it has been in years. For...

Seventy (70) percent of U.S. consumers are binge-watchers and now binge watch an average of five episodes at a time, and almost one-third (31 percent) binge on a weekly basis, according to a survey by Deloitte. The survey pointed out that 46 percent of Americans now subscribe to streaming video...

According to Robert Drbul of Nomura, the consumer is in a "better position to spend." Drbul added low gas and oil prices will also leave consumers with ‘extra cash to spend' and the low-income consumer should "continue to benefit." The analyst named Amazon....

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal this week about the intense competition among banks to manage the assets of the wealthier clients. Many of them are now offering what they call ‘lifestyle advisory services,' which include everything from planning a vacation to finding the...

South Korea may its own, new handbag museum -- but if you want to see those women's accessories in action in an Asian market, look to China. Luxury goods companies such as Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Mercedes Benz count on China for increasing sales. And among the most desired items by...

It's become a term retailers have learned to dread: “showrooming.” That's when consumers visit brick-and-mortar stores to test out products they're considering – then head home and buy those items on-line,at a better price. Showrooming has certainly taken a toll on some retailers. A Pew...

The upcoming holiday season will be the shortest in over a decade, with just 26 shopping days squeezed between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's six fewer days than last year. But in spite of a compressed shopping season, there are signs the retail sector is looking forward to a happy ending...

Think the cost of your Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) latte is too much? Well then, take a moment to consider Chinese consumers – who are apparently up in arms about what they're paying for a cup of the high-end coffee. And state-run Chinese media has joined in the criticism of the Seattle-based...