Sentiment’s swift decline has caused some to wonder if a drop in confidence could be self-fulfilling, as lower confidence could weigh on consumer spending, and consequently, on output.
Tax cuts boosted earnings growth by 7–8 percentage points. Revenues (which are not impacted by the tax cuts) are tracking to a healthy 6% increase, similar to prior expectations.
Rising economic uncertainty also weighed on business and consumer confidence data.
Most of the country might still be in the throes of the winter, but after extreme cold throughout many parts of the
United States, thankfully the weather has warmed up.