Communication Revolutions

Crisis in Confidence

Consumer Confidence Plunges Amid Financial Turmoil

Consumer confidence plummeted to an all-time low in October as Wall Street turmoil hit consumers on Main Street.  

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 38 in October from 61.4 in September, falling far below economists' expectations of 55. 

The decline was due mostly to the turmoil that has hit the financial sector in recent months.

"The impact of the financial crisis over the last several weeks has clearly taken a toll on consumers' confidence," said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. 

Behavioral Revolution

Interesting article on the behavioral revolution by David Brooks in the NYT

• Roughly speaking, there are four steps to every decision. First, you perceive a situation. Then you think of possible courses of action. Then you calculate which course is in your best interest. Then you take the action.
• Alan Greenspan - “I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms.”

• Perceiving a situation seems, at first glimpse, like a remarkably simple operation. You just look and see what’s around. But the operation that seems most simple is actually the most complex, it’s just that most of the action takes place below the level of awareness. Looking at and perceiving the world is an active process of meaning-making that shapes and biases the rest of the decision-making chain.