The US Bureau of Economic Activity released its third revision of real GDP for Q4 and full year 2023. They’re now saying that real GDP for Q4 increased 3.4%, an upwards revision and reflects, in part, increases in consumer spending. Current dollars personal income increased $230.2B in Q4, which may in part explain continued resilience in consumer spending. Disposable income increased 3.8% in Q4, and the personal savings rate ticked upwards to 4%. All relatively good news. And initial jobless claims continue their very slow downward trend, which is definitely good news.
The University of Michigan released its update on consumer sentiment. They found consumer sentiment up across the board – overall, up 3.3% from 76.9 in February to 79.4 in March, and both current economic conditions up from 79.4 in February to 82.5 in March, and future expectations up from 75.2 in February to 77.4 in March. No rising anxiety in their results.
itim Group plc (LON:ITIM) is a SaaS-based technology company that enables store-based retailers to optimise their businesses to improve financial performance and effectively compete with online competitors. Itim adds retail value by helping multi-channel retailers optimise their business and their stores to improve financial performance and compete more effectively with the “Amazons”.