Abstract:

Times are tough, and that is a bit of an understatement. We are being bombarded with news headlines about the interest rate hikes, increased costs of living, shaky stocks and bonds, the lingering pandemic, the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and a string of natural disasters around the globe. While the Ipsos Global Consumer Index shows an increase of one percentage point from last month, beneath this average there is a lot of variation and many countries who are still in decline.