Dismal Scientist: ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index

Dismal Scientist: ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index

The ABC News/Washington post comfort index appears to be headed to levels normally only seen during recessions. The price of oil has clearly hurt the confidence of consumers.

This is the kind of bad news that stock market investors love. It sounds greedy and cruel. The point is not to revel in the pain of others but to get prepared for the launch that typically occurs at the bottom of these cycles. The problem for now is that the levels of despair are higher than what occurred during the 2001 recession but not nearly as high as those seen during the 90-91 recession. Stay tuned!