Consumer confidence falls again.

shortchanged_2

Pimperne1 wrote: »

Bit of a waste of time this index. They surveyed 1001 people but this is what their index has done in the past year since Oct 10:

Down 11
Up 6
Down 6
Down 8
Up 7
Down 1
Up 15
Down 7
Down 5
Down 2
Even
Even
Down 1

Well ITV carried out a survey on the news yesterday which also seemed to back up the fact that consumer confidence is falling.

Really2

shortchanged wrote: »

Where are you getting your information from?

http://search.independent.co.uk/topic/car-sales-figures

needs login.

UK car sales on the up in September‎
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=car%20sale%20%20uk&source=newssearch&cd=9&ved=0CF4QqQIwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.european-rubber-journal.com%2Ffullitem.aspx%3Fid%3D118935&ei=4FKhTueIKsyn8QO3hKDaBQ&usg=AFQjCNGc9HzUI_cOfZj_T7cp_dZRY3KB4g

European Rubber Journal (subscription) - 1 day ago
London, UK -- “September saw a 7.4 percent increase in UK vehicle manufacturing, confirming a positive trend we expect to continue into 2012,” said Paul ...

I did edit to put production later though, sorry.

But still seems to indicate big ticket spending.

shortchanged_2

Really2 wrote: »

Looks like my post above, sort of fits in with your post.

Car production up still, so it still looks like people are spending on luxury items still.

I see you have now edited your post Really2. I wonder if the car production aspect is more to do with the likes of Honda now up and running again.

MrRee_2

People have been worried for 3 years now .... and, for most, the world has continued to turn.

Disaster hasn't materialised, jobs haven't been lost, wages have increased ... for most people.

Now, they are saying, "Let's treat ourselves, buy that house/car/TV" - you have got to carry on living!

Too many people (mainly over on HPC) are hoping for armegedden, they take great delight in bad economic news, they want the system to collapse .. in the belief that they will be buying bargains (of course, they won't though).

Most people just get on with living and they cannot afford to await something that will never happen.

Good on the bold consumer I say - they may yet drag us up out of the pit we are in.

At the end of the day, we - in the UK - are extremely well off ...... SPEND!

Really2

Pass, but the slight fall in sales 0.8% is lower than the 5% average from January.

So it would seem to indicate increasing activity, but saying that Sept is hard month to judge for obvious reasons.

But retail spending is up but confidence is down. Thankfully it is spending that contributes to GDP not confidence.

EchoLocation

MrRee wrote: »

Too many people (mainly over on HPC) are hoping for armegedden, they take great delight in bad economic news, they want the system to collapse .. in the belief that they will be buying bargains (of course, they won't though).

I'm not on HPC, but I do read it and this is a complete and utter lie.

Generali

Rinoa wrote: »

Maybe peoples actual financial circumstances have changed little. They clearly still have money to spend. Perhaps the medias daily attempts to find negative viewpoints on every economic issue skews the confidence index more than is warranted.

The UK's unemployment rate is currently 7.8%. That means the not-unemployed rate amongst people of working age is 92.2%. Also I don't imagine pensioners are feeling a massive pinch (most pensioners don't have 6 and 7 figure sums in savings and are attempting to live of the interest IME).

Times are hard for many. I certainly suffered my fair share of travails in the 2008-10 period. For most of my friends, life just carried on as normal. The ones that were living on the credit card have had to cut back a bit but it is really just trimming the fat: only Sunday lunch out rather than also having a big Friday night and a baby-sitter perhaps. If you were on £25,000 a year in 2009 and you're on £25,500 now then you'll have suffered a small decline in your standard of living most likely but nothing more.

chewmylegoff

Really2 wrote: »

needs login.

UK car sales on the up in September‎
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=car%20sale%20%20uk&source=newssearch&cd=9&ved=0CF4QqQIwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.european-rubber-journal.com%2Ffullitem.aspx%3Fid%3D118935&ei=4FKhTueIKsyn8QO3hKDaBQ&usg=AFQjCNGc9HzUI_cOfZj_T7cp_dZRY3KB4g


I did edit to put production later though, sorry.

But still seems to indicate big ticket spending.

isn't production up, because it is returning to normal after a lack of parts as a result of the japanese tsunami put a big dent in production.

Generali

chewmylegoff wrote: »

isn't production up, because it is returning to normal after a lack of parts as a result of the japanese tsunami put a big dent in production.

I believe it's also because more cars are being sold. Things feel a lot better in the private sector than 3 years ago IMO. The public sector looks in all sorts of bother though.

Really2

chewmylegoff wrote: »

isn't production up, because it is returning to normal after a lack of parts as a result of the japanese tsunami put a big dent in production.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/kent_motors_news/2011/october/21/uk_car_production_accelerates.aspx

Over the first nine months of this year, car production was up 4.8% on the January-September 2010 figure, while CV production was down 2.7% and engine production up 5%.

If it did the figures are well up then as they are higher than the same period last year

they add.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: "The September 2011 production increases confirm a positive trend we expect to continue into 2012.

"Major new investment by vehicle manufacturers is opening up opportunities for UK-based suppliers, helping to drive the economic recovery and private sector investment."