{
  "id": 10739517,
  "title": "Confidence Slips (Way) Below Consensus",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/confidence-slips-way-below-consensus",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-29T16:09:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Econbrowser",
    "slug": "econbrowser",
    "url": "https://econbrowser.com/archives/2026/09/confidence-slips-way-below-consensus"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Conference Board's consumer confidence index has slipped significantly below market expectations, according to the latest data. The index, which stands at 81.9, is now three standard deviations below the mean, marking a sharp decline from previous readings of 89.2 and 88.6. This decline has left consumer sentiment in a negative territory for the first time since September 2024. The Present Situation Index, which gauges current business conditions, has fallen sharply, while the Expectations Index has slipped further into negative territory. The good-bad differential, a measure of consumers' outlook on their financial situation, has turned negative for the first time since 2022. Dana M Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board, attributed the decline to a deterioration in consumer perceptions of the current business environment and the labor market. Despite this, consumers still anticipate their household incomes to rise, but at a slower pace than previously observed.",
  "summary": "Conference Board index registers 81.9 vs consensus 89.2 (and previous 88.6). It’s currently three standard deviations below mean. Figure 1: U.Michigan Economic Sentiment, using Cummings Tedeschi adjustment (blue), Conference Board Confidence Index (brown), Gallup Confidence (green), all demeaned and divided by standard deviation 2021M01-2025m02. Red dashed line at “Liberation Day”, purple dashed…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}