A University of Michigan survey reveals that U.S. consumers are increasingly pessimistic about the economy, with expectations of inflation rising to 4.9% over the next year, the highest since November 2022. Despite December’s inflation rate at 2.9% and a 2.3% annualized GDP growth in Q4 of the previous year, concerns persist due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged the possibility of a recession, stating there are “no guarantees” of avoiding one. Stock markets showed resilience on Friday, likely due to relief from a lack of tariff updates rather than genuine market optimism. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all experienced weekly losses, with the S&P losing $5.28 trillion in about three weeks. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped 10.5% from February to 57.9 in mid-March. Klarna, a Swedish buy-now-pay-later provider, filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, highlighting challenges for European exchanges retaining tech firms. Meanwhile, the U.K.’s economy contracted by 0.1% in January, contrary to expectations of 0.1% growth, leading analysts to predict steady interest rates from the Bank of England. — news from CNBC
