ID ); $exclude_types = array( '' ); $exclude_types = apply_filters( 'eat_exclude_types', $exclude_types ); // do nothing if the post has already a featured image set if ( $already_has_thumb ) { return; } // do the job if the post is not from an excluded type if ( ! in_array( $post_type, $exclude_types ) ) { // get first attached image $img = rv_auto_featured_image_catch_that_image( $post ); $attachment_id = attachment_url_to_postid( $img ); if ( $attachment_id ) { // add attachment ID add_post_meta( $post->ID, '_thumbnail_id', $attachment_id, true ); } } } // set featured image before post is displayed (for old posts) add_action( 'the_post', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); // hooks added to set the thumbnail when publishing too add_action( 'new_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); add_action( 'draft_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); add_action( 'pending_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); add_action( 'future_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); function rv_auto_featured_image_catch_that_image( $post ) { // Find the images in the post_content. $output = preg_match_all( '//i', $post->post_content, $matches ); $first_img = isset( $matches[1][0] ) ? $matches[1][0]:''; // if no images found, do nothing if ( empty ( $first_img ) ) { return false; } return $first_img; } } Consumer Confidence Slumps as Inflation Expectations Jump – BCI 24 News Network
USA

Consumer Confidence Slumps as Inflation Expectations Jump

25 February 2025 10:21 PM
BCI 24 News Network

A new survey from The Conference Board shows that consumer confidence fell and inflation expectations rose in February—as optimism waned amid uncertainty over the Trump administration’s trade policies—accompanied by strong views of current business conditions.
The group’s consumer confidence index fell by 7 points, to 98.3 in February, marking the sharpest single-month decline in more than years and the lowest level in nearly a year. This drop was primarily driven by a 9.3-point decline in the forward-looking expectations index, to 72.9, dipping below the 80-point recession warning threshold.
“A mixed bag here,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. “Consumers’ views on the current situation are rosy, remaining above 130, although still below pre-pandemic levels.”…