Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Falls for Fifth Straight Month

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

P.M. Edition for May 16. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer-sentiment index fell to 50.8 in May. WSJ economics reporter Chao Deng says the data surprised economists, and reflect fears of higher prices driven by sweeping tariffs. And higher education reporter Sara Randazzo says President Trump’s funding cuts have delivered a broad hit to universities from the Ivy League to state schools. Plus, Boeing will avoid prosecution over violating an earlier criminal settlement under a tentative deal with the Justice Department. Pierre Bienaimé hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Race the rudder, raise the sails, raise the sales!
0:05.0	Captain, an unidentified ship approaching. Over.
0:07.0	Roger that. Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution?
0:13.0	Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors.
0:17.0	With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more.
0:21.4	To get £100 off your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com slash lead to claim your credit.
0:26.6	That's LinkedIn.com slash lead. Terms and conditions apply.
0:33.5	Consumer sentiment in the U.S. falls for a fifth straight month as inflation worries rise.
0:39.3	Plus, universities are feeling the financial strain from President Trump's funding cuts.
0:44.3	The totality of these cuts is going to mean that there's more than just the research that has to be hit,
0:50.3	because a lot of the infrastructure for this research still exists and needs to be funded.
1:01.0	And how a tentative deal with the Justice Department could spare Boeing from a guilty plea over 737 max charges.
1:02.9	It's Friday, May 16th.
1:06.2	I'm Pierre Biennamee for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Alex Osce.
1:12.1	This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that moved the world today.
1:21.0	Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has fallen to the second lowest number on record.
1:29.4	The University of Michigan said its preliminary index of consumer sentiment for May fell to 50.8, a roughly 3% drop from April.
1:34.8	American households felt worse about the economy, with sweeping tariffs raising the prospect of higher prices. Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from
1:40.8	almost 60% in April. Respondents said they expect prices to surge 7.3% over the next year,
1:47.5	compared with expectations in April for a 6.5% increase.
1:51.7	The survey also noted that longer-run inflation expectations rose too,
1:55.8	reflecting an especially big monthly jump among Republicans.
	...

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