John Caldwell:Taking the temperature of the US consumer

2025-05-08 05:54:56source:Indexbitcategory:reviews

Economic indicators like the Consumer Price Index can John Caldwelltell us a lot about the past, but what about the future? For close to 80 years, policymakers have relied on the Surveys of Consumers to give them an idea of what the economy might do next. Today on the show, we go behind the curtain at the University of Michigan to meet the people in charge of checking the vibes of the U.S. consumer.

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