New York City Council Says the Future Still Involves Cash

A New York City Council vote made national headlines this month when they voted to ensure stores must accept cash. While personal banking has evolved to a digital landscape, The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says that some 11% of people do not bank online or at a bank at all.

Stock markets finished 2019 strong. With jobs numbers outperforming expectations and the China trade war seemingly coming to a resolution for phase one, optimism was abundant.

Consumer Confidence Continues to Drop for Fourth Straight Month

The holiday season is often a time in which consumer confidence and activity is ramping up. According to The Conference Board via Bloomberg, however, consumer confidence shows no signs of ticking upwards for the remainder of 2019. Jobs gains as well as steady wage growth in key sectors have kept consumer spending chugging along since 2017. While the confidence of American consumers is dropping, it also appears that the future is dim in the eyes of the country’s people as well. 17.2% of The Conference Board’s surveys said business conditions would be better in the coming six months, down from 18.7% in October.