A new leaf turned for 2026? What consumer confidence can tell us about the state of the economy

Faisal IslamEconomics editorReutersShoppers on Oxford Street during the Boxing Day salesA new year, a new beginning.The latest monthly figures on the economy hardly confirm a change of gear, but nor do they back up the worst doom-mongers claiming decline and recession. It is neither doom nor boom, but a new year makes an opportunity to wipe the slate clean on policy, on a sense of certainty, and perhaps above…