The final print for August's University of Michigan sentiment survey was expected to confirm the preliminary data's rise in confidence driven by a decline in inflation expectations. However, instead the final print saw inflation expectations increasing intra-month and sentiment declining. Year-ahead inflation expectations edged up from 3.4% last month to 3.5% this month (up signifcantly from the 3.3% preliminary print). Long-run inflation expectations came in at 3.0% for the third consecutive month, but up from the 2.9% preliminary print. After rising sharply for the past several months, the final print for August's ... (full story)