It seems nobody’s coming to rescue American families from the affordability crisis, and as such, many are taking matters into their own hands with a stab at entrepreneurship.A new business formations report shows that March set a record, with 624,915 new companies registered in a single month. This is an all-time high, according to Registered Agents, the U.S.’s largest business formation services provider.Entrepreneurship momentum continued in April, marking 560,194 new formations—a 9% increase over the same month a year prior.
It comes as the wallets of everyday Americans remain strained. Inflation is sticky, with CPI reports continually coming in hotter than expected: In April, the all-items index increased 3.8% before seasonal adjustment. Pressure is coming from energy prices as tensions in the Middle East rumble on, choking global oil and gas supplies as a result.
This inflation is visible to consumers, as UBS’s Paul Donovan noted yesterday: “Since U.S. President Trump took office, coffee prices have risen 24%, beef over 19%, gasoline over 19%, and vegetables 10.5%. These are price increases that consumers notice and remember.”
Sentiment is nosediving as a result: The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey for May found that the outlook as at a record low with a readin of 48.2—comparable to the trough reached in June 2022.
