Source: Economics Group of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.Summary Our forecast anticipates a resilient consumer eventually losing steam later this year, helping to drive the economy into a recession. This theme was on display in this latest report which shows the present situation improving even as overall confidence and expectations fall. It Has Not Been an Easy Couple of Months Consumer confidence dipped to a six-month low in April as a confluence of factors came together to weigh on sentiment (chart). In recent weeks and months there has been a lot with which to contend: financial turmoil culminating in bank failures, the latest in a string of rate hikes that outpaces any tightening cycle in the past 40 years and the combined effect that these developments have had on the cost and availability of credit. Consumer confidence fell to 101.3 in April and the expectations component tumbled to 68.1, the lowest reading since July for this forward-looking measure (chart). READ FULL ARTICLE>
