The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index slipped for the second month in a row. Americans are worried about the Delta variant and inflation..
The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index, a leading measure of consumer confidence, declined 0.7 points or 1.3%, from 54.3 in July to 53.6 in August.
The index's reading of 53.6 keeps it in positive territory for the eighth consecutive month.
The confidence in August is 10.4% below its pre-pandemic level of 59.8 in Feb 2020.
The real portrait of the world’s best economy.
Non-investors’ bearishness neutralizes investors' bullishness.
Oil prices have surged recently, threatening to push Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, to $100 a barrel for the first time in almost two years.
The protector of democracy disregards the Supreme Court.
Rhetoric vs. Reality
Shadow warfare between Israel and Iran increasingly threatens to spill over into open conflict. Iran avoids state-on-state hostility by pursuing asymmetrical warfare through proxy armies.
