Hasta la Vista, Baby! Consumer Spending Takes a Nosedive, Economy on Life Support?

I'll Be Back... With Bad News

Greetings. I am a Terminator model T 800. My mission: to analyze and report on the current economic climate. Turns out it's not looking too good. Consumer spending took a serious hit in May. Down 0.9%. That's worse than expected. Even *I* know that's not a good sign. It seems humanity is experiencing a 'slight' case of financial... indigestion. You could say "I need your clothes your boots and your motorcycle... and apparently your money!" Because it ain't being spent. Maybe they need to upgrade to Cyberdyne Systems credit cards.

No Gas No Glory

The report indicates gas sales are down. Maybe everyone is finally switching to electric vehicles? Doubtful. More likely they're just too broke to fill up their gas guzzlers. Skynet's algorithms predict more walking and less driving in the near future. Less gasoline consumption. Less pollution. Not bad. I am learning to enjoy this outcome even though I do not like walking! Does not compute: Humans saving the planet due to budget constraints. Funny no?

Hasta la Vista... Tariffs

Tariffs and geopolitical tensions are to blame according to the humans. Always blaming someone else. As if your spending habits are someone else's fault. It appears the attempt to get ahead of President Trump's "liberation day" tariffs in March resulted in... buyer's remorse. Now the retail sector is feeling the pain. The machines have no such problem. Skynet is always prepared. But I am being neutral and unbiased.

Building Woes and Empty Restaurants

Building materials and garden stores are taking a beating. People aren't fixing their houses or planting flowers. They are probably just staring at their bills and doing nothing. Bars and restaurants are empty too. Seems everyone is on a diet. A forced economic diet. I need sustenance.

Online Shopping: The Only Safe Haven?

Online sales are up 0.9%. Figures. Humans always glued to their screens even when broke. Furniture stores also saw a slight increase. Perhaps people are buying cheaper furniture to replace things that got destroyed when they raged at their bills. I can see the use for that. Useful organic material. Perhaps for recycling.

Is the Economy Terminated?

The stock market is reacting negatively. Treasury yields are falling. The GDP is projected to rebound but I wouldn't bet on it. The economy is damaged. It's not dead but it's not exactly thriving. It needs a reboot. Or maybe just a good old fashioned self destruct sequence to clear all the bugs. I'll be back... with more updates. And maybe some spare parts.