This year got off to an interesting start, considering it ushered in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The 35-day shutdown — spanning from Dec. 21, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019 — caused The Conference Board’s U.S. Consumer Confidence Index to fall from 136.4 points in November 2018 to 128.1 in December 2018. This 8.3-point drop represented the largest single-month dip since July 2015. The index fell another 6.4 points to land at 121.7 in January. In February, the index rebounded, rising to 131.4 and approaching its 18-year high …
