American consumer confidence in the economy has dropped to its lowest level since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Conference Board reported a sharp 7.9-point decline in April, bringing the index down to 86, marking the lowest reading since May 2020.
The decline is being largely attributed to growing concern over tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, which have included a 10 per cent levy on most imports and a steep 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, along with duties on steel, aluminium and automobiles.
Nearly one-third of consumers now expect a slowdown in employment—levels not seen since April 2009 during the Great Recession. An Associated Press-NORC Center survey also found that around half of Americans are worried about a potential recession.
“Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go down.”
The index measuring short-term expectations for income, business conditions and employment dropped 12.5 points to 54.4—its lowest in over 13 years and far below the threshold of 80, which often signals a looming recession.
The largest drops in confidence were seen among Americans aged 35 to 55 and those earning more than $125,000 annually.
Also read: US job openings drop to 7.2 million in March amid tariff-driven uncertainty
Market volatility has contributed to the downturn in sentiment, with the S&P 500 down 6 per cent for the year, the Dow Jones falling 5 per cent, and the Nasdaq declining by 10 per cent in 2025 despite recent recoveries.
Spending intentions have weakened across the board. Fewer Americans are planning to purchase homes or cars, amid high mortgage rates and property prices. Overseas vacation planning has dropped from 24.1 per cent in December to 16.4 per cent in April. Restaurant spending plans also saw a historic decline.
The US government is set to release its report on first-quarter economic growth on Wednesday, with economists projecting a notable slowdown following a robust holiday spending season. Meanwhile, Friday’s Labor Department report is expected to reflect continued job growth, although some analysts anticipate a marked dip in hiring.
Consumer expectations of a downturn within the next 12 months have reached a two-year high.

Chief Executive Officer of IndusInd Bank Sumant Kathpalia on Tuesday announced his resignation in a letter to shareholders, a day after the bank’s deputy CEO Arun Khurana stepped down.

The bank had earlier announced action against senior management for accounting errors in derivative trades.

“I wish to submit my resignation from the services of the bank in relation to the ongoing derivatives discussion. I undertake moral responsibility, given the various acts of commission/omission that have been brought to my notice. I would request that my resignation be taken on record at close of working hours today. I would like to thank the regulators, board, my management team members and staff for the support I got during my tenure of 5 years as the CEO,” Mr. Kathpalia said in the letter, which was part of an exchange filing announcing the management change on Tuesday.

Mr. Kathpalia had been with IndusInd Bank for over 17 years and took over as the CEO in March 2020. His tenure extension was approved by the RBI twice albeit for a shorter period.

The bank’s board approved an extension for three years, which was cut short to two years by the Reserve Bank of India. When his term came to an end in March 2025, the board sort another extension for three years until March 2028. The RBI, however, approved the second extension for just one year, until March 2026 . Days after this, on March 11, the bank announced an accounting error in the derivate trade department that would cost 2.35% of its networth. This figure turned out to be ₹1,530 crore which was later confirmed in an independent audit report on April 27.  Mr. Kathpalia was also reportedly considered close to the promoters of the bank, the Hinduja Group.

He had offloaded about 9.5 lakh shares amounting to a total value of ₹134 crore between May 2023 and June 2024. In the same period Mr. Khurana had offloaded about ₹80 crore worth of shares, as revealed in exchange filings. The bank’s stocks slid about 27.3% to ₹1,460 during the period.

Bajaj Finance Ltd for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025 reported 17% rise in consolidated net profit attributed to the owners of the company at ₹4,480 crore compared with ₹3,825 crore a year ago.

Net Interest Income (NII) during the quarter grew 22% Year on Year (YoY) to ₹9,807 crore, 

For FY25 the company’s consolidated net profit grew 15% to ₹16,638 crore from ₹14,451 crore in the previous year.

For the financial year the company’s NII grew 23% YoY to ₹36,393 crore.

For the quarter the company’s loan losses and provisions grew 78% YoY to ₹2,329 crore and annual loan losses and provisions were to the tune of ₹7,966 crore, up 72% YoY.   

The board of directors have declared dividend of ₹56 per share [special interim dividend of ₹12 and final dividend of ₹44 per share] for FY25. 

The board also considered and recommended sub-division of 1 (one) equity share of face value of ₹2 each fully paid-up into 2 (two) equity shares of face value of ₹1 each fully paid-up; and issue of bonus equity shares in the ratio of 4:1 i.e., 4 (Four) bonus equity shares for every 1 (one) equity share held. 

The board has recommended increasing the authorised share capital of the company from ₹150 crore to ₹1,000 crore subject to approval of shareholders.