Laserfiche WebLink
vehicle sales, electronics, furniture, and at home-improvement and department stores. <br /> "The current challenges in the used auto industry are well documented," CarMax Inc. Chief <br /> Executive Bill Nash said on a call with analysts this week, "with affordability pressured by <br /> broad inflation, climbing interest rates, tightening lending standards and prolonged low <br /> consumer confidence." <br /> Consumer sentiment ticked up slightly in April but remained at a subdued level, the University <br /> of Michigan said Friday. Spending increased online in March, and rose slightly at bars and <br /> restaurants, the Commerce Department said. <br /> Analysts say lower tax refunds compared with last year were also a factor holding down <br /> spending in March. The amount refunded to taxpayers through March 31 was 10.4%lower than <br /> in 2022, the Internal Revenue Service said. And an extra boost in food-stamps assistance for <br /> low-income households that Congress authorized at the start of the pandemic ended in a <br /> number of states in March as well. <br /> From a year earlier, retail sales increased 2.9%in March, the smallest gain since June 2020, <br /> when the economy was emerging from pandemic lockdowns. March's year-over-year increase <br /> was below the 5%rate of inflation. <br /> "Consumers may be tempted to save more in 2023 because of all the talk of recession," said <br /> Jitender Miglani, senior forecast analyst at Forrester Research Inc. Staff at the Fed anticipate a <br /> recession could start later this year because of the fallout from banking-sector stresses. <br />