However, German consumers have become more pessimistic, according to the GfK index for July, which fell for the third consecutive month.Elsewhere in the euro area, there were mixed signals.
Similarly, the Rydex ratios, which gauge mutual fund flow activity among Rydex's index funds, remain pessimistic and unable to break out of their holding pattern: Investors are unwilling to put money back to work on the long side of the market.
And those daily indicators of investor confidence — the markets — have painted a very pessimistic picture; the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, seen as a broad indicator of the market, is down 8 percent for the year.
Net-net, we are a bit less sanguine about the near-term prospects for stocks and it wouldn't surprise us to see a turbulent summer, but Brexit does not alter our long-term positive view of the markets, especially as investor sentiment, despite the near-record levels of the major indexes, was quite pessimistic heading into the vote, with plenty of money parked on the sidelines.
The job outlook section of the index was also more pessimistic.
The states that were most negative on the economy were led by West Virginia Washingtonn, D.C., has been more economically confident (or in 2011, less pessimistic, since it had the highest index value but was still negative) than every state since 2009.
A number of liberal and pessimistic analysts have long used price indices other than the CPI-U, including the researchers at the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Given the recent drop in pessimistic sentiment seen in the volatility indexes and the CBOE equity put/call ratio, we may very well see the bull/bear ratio begin to climb quickly, which would warrant some caution.
Fears of a slowdown in China's economy and some weak earnings reports added to the pessimistic atmosphere, which led the Dow Jones Industrial Index to tumble again, for a 4.2% loss in the last three days.
Evidence is provided that over the sub-prime crisis period pessimistic coverage Granger-caused the returns on banking indices, while causality in the opposite direction proved weaker.
A negative index value means that Americans are more pessimistic, and a positive value means they are more optimistic.
