Up a bit this month but the chart isn’t looking promising:

New York Fed’s New SCE Household Spending Survey Shows Expected Growth Of Household Spending Will Slow

Today, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data updated its Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) Household Spending Survey, which provides information on individuals’ experiences and expectations regarding household spending.

Not good:

Contraction:

The tariff induced collapse of global trade continues:

Politicization of weather forecasting:

NOAA staff warned in Sept. 1 directive against contradicting Trump

Elliott Management, a top activist shareholder firm, announced Monday that it has a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T. WarnerMedia, which owns CNN, is under AT&T.

“Great news that an activist investor is now involved with AT&T. As the owner of VERY LOW RATINGS @CNN, perhaps they will now put a stop to all of the Fake News emanating from its non-credible ‘anchors,'” Trump claimed in a tweet. “Also, I hear that, because of its bad ratings, it is losing a fortune.”

“But most importantly, @CNN is bad for the USA,” the president continued in a follow-up tweet. “Their International Division spews bad information & Fake News all over the globe. This is why foreign leaders are always asking me, ‘Why does the Media hate the U.S. sooo much?’ It is a fraudulent shame, & all comes from the top!”

Trump claims CNN ‘is bad for the USA’ as he praises new AT&T investor

Highlights

Going into the accelerated trade tensions of August and before the US-China tariff hikes of September, US trade was improving, at least slightly. July’s trade deficit came in at $54.0 billion which is well down from June’s revised $55.5 billion total but still marginally over the $53.9 billion monthly average of the second quarter. This comparison gets net exports off to a slow start for third-quarter GDP.

The bilateral goods deficit with China rose sharply in July, to an unadjusted $32.8 billion from June’s $30.0 billion reflecting a fall in exports and a rise in imports. Yet year-to-date (which helps smooth unadjusted data), this deficit is down, at $196.8 billion versus $222.6 billion this time in 2018. This is a positive for 2019 GDP.

Total international trade has been depressed for the US this year as it has been for many of the global economies. US exports are down 0.6 percent from July last year for the fourth month of year-on-year contraction in what is the worst run for this reading in three years. Imports, up 0.1 percent, continue to skirt the year-on-year zero line.

Gains in July exports were led by consumer goods and included gains for autos and capital goods. Exports of foods, feeds & beverages were lower for 2.2 percent year-on-year contraction. Imports show a sharp drop for capital goods while imports of foods rose as they did for autos and also consumer goods.

This was before the new round of tariffs took effect, which will only make things worse:

US Factory Activity Contracts for 1st Time since 2016

The ISM Manufacturing PMI in the US fell to 49.1 in August from 51.2 in the previous month, missing market expectations of 51.1. The reading pointed to the first contraction in the manufacturing sector since January 2016 as new orders and employment declined amid US-China trade dispute.

Serious contraction here:

Congress has some work to do tightening up the institutional structure:

Trump reportedly promised pardons to aides who break the law to build border wall by 2020 election

And the President is now lashing out at criticism that exists only in his imagination:

Trump lashes out at former intel officials for criticism of Iran tweet

“Being scolded by failed former “Intelligence” officials, like James Clapper, on my condolences to Iran on their failed Rocket launch. Sadly for the United States, guys like him, Comey, and the even dumber John Brennan, don’t have a clue. They really set our Country back,” Trump tweeted, adding: “but now we are moving forward like never before. We are winning again, and we are respected again!”

It wasn’t immediately clear what criticism the president was referring to, as the officials had not issued public statements on Trump’s tweet or his decision to release an image taken by U.S. forces of a damaged Iranian rocket facility.

More evidence of same:

National Weather Service corrects Trump on Hurricane Dorian: ‘Alabama will not see any impacts’

Trump Stumped by Category 5 Storm Bearing Down on East Coast

With personal income decelerating shouldn’t surprise anyone if personal consumption does same, not to forget benchmark revisions just took employment down by 500,000 dampening that source of personal income:

US Personal Income Grows the Least in Nearly a Year

Personal income in the United States increased 0.1 percent month-over-month in July of 2019, following an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in June and below market expectations

Seems tariffs have reversed trumped up expectations:

Somehow he keeps getting more absurd, displaying delusional notions of cause and effect:

President Donald Trump on Friday argued “badly run and weak companies” have blamed his trade war with China for flagging business in order to mask “bad management.”His tweet comes as more companies from a range of industries have started to slam his tariffs on about $550 billion in Chinese goods. Earlier this week, more than 160 industry groups criticized Trump’s latest move to slap duties on Chinese products.Trump, who has tried to pin blame on the Federal Reserve rather than his trade conflict with the world’s second-largest economy as concerns about a looming recession grow, said companies “are smartly blaming these small Tariffs” for their difficulties.“And who can really blame them for doing that? Excuses!” the president tweeted.

“General Motors, which was once the Giant of Detroit, is now one of the smallest auto manufacturers there,” Trump tweeted Friday, a day after Bloomberg News reported GM employed fewer United Auto Workers-represented employees than Ford Motor Co. or Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. The president called for GM to “start moving back to America again.”