University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 59.7 according the the University who has been compiling this index since the 1940s.  It also was the 4th straight month the index has fallen. Additionally, the US government also announced consumer prices had risen to the highest levels in forty years.

Growing inflation and the Ukraine Crisis along with new increased gas pump prices have and will continue to hit citizens of the US in the pocket book.   We as investors, look to these reports and others to get a sense of direction of the US economy and how these trends will affect investing decisions.