Consumer Sediment

The good: University of Michigan consumer sentiment index (a nat’l index) improved more than forecast in May. It’s at 72.4 up from 69.8 in April. The Bad: Economist had predicted 70. The Ugly: This reading is below the avg of 73.9 that we see in RECESSIONS and light years away from the 90 avg during expansions; the index averaged 89 in the 5 years leading up to the last recession. We are in an expansion like no other.