U.S. consumer confidence plummeted in February, the biggest monthly decline in more than four years, a business research group said Tuesday, with inflation seemingly stuck and a trade war under President Donald Trump seen by a growing number of Americans as inevitable.

The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index sank this month to 98.3 from 105.3 in January. That’s far below the expectations of economists, who projected a reading of 103, according to a survey by FactSet.

The seven-point drop was the biggest month-to-month decline since August of 2021.

Markets on Wall Street immediately dropped.

Respondents to the board’s survey expressed concern over inflation with a significant increase in mentions of trade and tariffs, the board said.

The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.3 points to 72.9. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.

The proportion of consumers expecting a recession over the next year jumped to a nine-month high, the board said.

Consumers’ view of current conditions tumbled 3.4 points to a reading of 136.5 this month and views on current labor market conditions fell again.

“Views of current labor market conditions weakened,” the group said Tuesday. “Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a ten-month high.”

Consumers appeared increasingly confident heading into the end of 2024 and spent generously during the holiday season. However, U.S. retail sales dropped sharply in January, with cold weather taking some of the blame for a dent in vehicle sales and at retail stores.

Retail sales fell 0.9% last month from December, the Commerce Department reported last week. The decline, the biggest in a year, came after two months of healthy gains.

Inflation has also remained sticky. So much so that the Federal Reserve has taken a more cautious approach to interest rates.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity and is closely watched by economists for signs about how the American consumer is feeling.

— Associated Press

Grassley initiates UNH probe in Senate

UnitedHealth Group shares fell after a report that Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is launching an inquiry into the insurer’s Medicare billing practices.

The Senate Judiciary Committee probe is looking at UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage program, a privately administered version of the U.S. Medicare health coverage plan for seniors and the disabled, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has long pushed for greater oversight of Medicare Advantage plans. The inquiry signals additional pressure on the company as Republicans in Congress weight a major tax and spending overhaul and the Trump administration scrutinizes federal spending. Grassley wrote that Medicare plans “continue to defraud the American taxpayer, costing them billions of dollars a year.”

His letter asked the company for extensive records about its system for recording patient diagnoses that affect payments in Medicare plans, including details about compliance programs, training manuals, and the use of artificial intelligence.

Shares of the Minnetonka-based health insurer closed own about 2% Tuesday.

Apple shareholders reject anti-DEI initiative

Apple shareholders rebuffed an attempt to pressure the technology trendsetter into joining President Donald Trump’s push to scrub corporate programs designed to diversify its workforce.

The proposal drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research — a self-described conservative think tank — urged Apple to follow a litany of high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives currently in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

After a brief presentation about the anti-DEI proposal, Apple announced shareholders had rejected it. In a regulatory filing submitted Tuesday evening, Apple disclosed that 97% of the ballots cast were votes against the measure.

The outcome vindicated Apple management’s decision to stand behind its diversity commitment even though Trump asked the U.S. Department of Justice to look into whether these types of programs have discriminated against some employees whose race or gender aren’t aligned with the initiative’s goals.

— From news services