Wednesday, May 27th Edition |
How are you feeling about the current state of the economy (and your own personal finances)?
Let’s dive in today …
Today’s Big Story
Shoppers Aren’t Happy
The University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index fell to new record lows

This is all starting to feel a little familiar. We’ve been here before, right? But maybe not this bad … Because if you’re holding back on spending or worried about losing your job, just know that you’re not alone. U.S. consumer sentiment just hit an all-time low this month.
A long-running survey of consumers suggests that we as a nation are feeling deep financial anxiety—drawing a sharp rebuke from President Trump’s right-hand man on the economy. The University of Michigan’s survey of consumer sentiment sank to 44.8 in May, marking the lowest level in records dating back to 1978, when the university began publishing the index on a monthly basis.
Sentiment was worse in May than any point during the 2020-21 coronavirus pandemic. It was also worse than at any point during the financial crisis of 2008-09. And it was even worse than at any point during the tumultuous period of 1980-82, when the U.S. suffered two recessions, 11% inflation and 18% mortgage rates.
What’s clear is that consumers aren’t happy, but experts can’t quite agree why. One answer, new research suggests, is affordability—namely, the lack thereof. Internet searches for the term are surging. In email campaigns for Congress, mentions of the word have spiked. While economists focus on the actual inflation rate, Barron’s says that consumers care more about the prices themselves. What groceries, rent and electricity cost now compared to what we remember paying just a few years ago.
The Wall Street Journal reports that an even more detailed look into price pressures will come tomorrow when the Commerce Department releases its reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index, The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.
Iran Accuses U.S. of ‘Grave Violation’ of Ceasefire
Trump seeks "good deal or no deal" but there are many hang-ups
President Donald Trump canceled a trip with his Cabinet to Camp David set for Wednesday, citing forecasts of bad weather as the reason he won’t make what would have been a rare visit to the rural presidential retreat. Instead, Trump said, he will convene his Cabinet at the White House, a meeting that comes as he seeks to negotiate an end to the war with Iran and boost his flagging approval ratings ahead of the fall midterms.
Iran accused the U.S. Tuesday of a “grave violation” of the two countries' fragile ceasefire after the U.S. military said “self-defense strikes” targeted Iranian forces, but with “restraint.” However, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official said Wednesday that a renewal of the war with the United States was unlikely but warned that Iran stood ready against any attack.
As he prepares to huddle with his top aides, Trump is projecting confidence that he's closing in on a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran's nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that's been politically unpopular for Republicans. So what will Iran get? Probably money. The Washington Post reports the Trump administration is floating the possibility of giving Iran more than the nation ever got under its nuclear deal with Obama; as much as $20 billion in unfrozen assets, compared to less than $2 billion under Obama.
FYI:
Perhaps it’s because he has his own compound and multiple golf courses, but other recent presidents used Camp David far more than Trump has.
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Ferrari Unveils Its First EV
The interior is spectacular; the exterior apparently looks better in person than on screen
Ferrari just pulled the cover off Luce, its first fully electric car. The five-seater is one of the biggest gambles in the Italian company’s history, arriving amid a string of missed targets and expensive promises by luxury carmakers to go electric. But will the ultra-wealthy spend more than half a million dollars on an all-electric Ferrari that doesn’t quite have the classic look or distinctive engine roar of a Ferrari?
Like some legendary Ferraris of the past, the company chose to work with an outside design team for the Luce, in this case LoveFrom, helmed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Many will detect some hints of Apple in the car’s design; more than one journalist said they could imagine it wearing that computer company’s logo rather than the prancing horse shields that dot its exterior. It does kinda look like a slightly more sexy Toyota Prius, right?
Ars Technica says it looks a little better in the metal than it does in photos or on screen, “although some of the shades we saw don’t do the shape many favors.” But they the interior is the coolest they’ve ever seen: The dash is machined from a single piece of brushed aluminum, the instrument panel is sexy and the pivoted infotainment screen is also rather impressive.
FYI:
The Luce has a whopping 1,035 hp and the ability to cover zero to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds—in launch control—and top out at just over 192 mph.
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