Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Why is consumer confidence currently low?
Consumer confidence is in the doldrums again, as we've mentioned this morning. We're a flaky old lot, aren't we? I mean, they've seen similar things in America. You take a single confidence reading in America, you would believe it's the end of the world. But look at the metrics on jobs and spending. It defies the mood, which would lead you to believe.
that what people say and what they do are often different things. So we're sitting on an 80. It's fallen 14. That's a lot.
Chapter 2: What do the metrics on jobs and spending reveal?
A hundred or more is positive. We're far from positive. If it helps, I'm positive. Could I find stuff to be negative about? Yes, I could. We all could at any time, no matter what's going on. But take spending. Data out this week from last month, right? It was up, and it was up a lot. Durables were up. Durables are things like sofas and fridges. Why would you buy a sofa if you're miserable?
And yet we did. Oil this week is down a lot. That money will go into cafe lunches and movie tickets. Things are getting better. I think it's a fear the worst mentality that we suffer from. The food price stats yesterday, they're virtually normal. In other words, in the Reserve Bank bands, 0% to 3%, no extra inflation for the war. The interest rate hikes...
that we're going to be needed to tame the so-called runaway secondary costs landing on our beleaguered economy may not be needed. Sharon and I were talking about that just a moment ago. Now, the common line used is, yes, some are doing it tough. No, we're not out of the woods yet.
Chapter 3: How is consumer spending defying negative sentiment?
All of that's true. I get that. But it isn't as bad as predicted. The facts cannot be denied unless you have a political agenda and it suits you to deny them. In other words, if you look, on average, at the facts, most people have work. Most people are under financial control. The banks tell us this. Spending is up. We have some savings. And looking forward, the war is over.
Things will get better. The GDP today tells us what we were travelling like pre-war, and that was pretty well, thank you very much. So the facts do not equate to the 80 in confidence. Now, be miserable if you want. It's a free world, but I'm not. And I reckon I'm better for it.
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