Economists were expecting today's report on Consumer Confidence for February to come in at 35, which would have been the lowest level on record. The actual number, however, came in much lower at a level of 25. Not only is this the lowest reading on record, but it is also the fifth worst report versus expectations since at least 1999. In the chart below, we highlight the monthly readings of the Consumer Confidence report going back to 1967 (recessions highlighted in gray).
Notice that most of the previous bottoms occur at the end of recessions.
Posted by: Brian Wilson | February 25, 2009 at 08:37 AM