A new Forbes/Maru Public Opinion poll finds that while most Americans continue to believe the state of US economy is on the wrong track, there’s a rise in optimism that both the national and local economies will likely improve.

This month’s American Maru Household Outlook index (MHOI) is at 86 (negative/pessimistic), down one point from last month. This month’s standing is a step back to the same level in January 2023 but still well above its lowest level reported back in July 2022 (79). It also marks the end of an apparent upswing in sentiment since February, keeping in mind that it hasn’t been on a positive plateau since the MHOI commenced in April 2021.

This month’s US MHOI is at 87 (negative/pessimistic), up two points from 85 last month. This marks two consecutive months of positive increases in the Index and harkens back to the last time it was at this level in March 2022.

A new Maru Public Opinion poll undertaken for The Zebra, which provides an independent online auto insurance comparison tool, finds that the youngest auto-insured drivers are far more likely than their older intergenerational counterparts to consider perpetrating a soft fraud on their auto insurer to save on auto insurance or get more money from the company—and the same appears true when asked if they’ve carried out such a deed.

The study examined knowledge about and practice of a “hack”—a phrase used to describe how drivers try to save on auto insurance or get more money from the company—some of which are legitimate while others are not.

The American Maru Household Outlook Index (“MHOI”) is at 84 (which is negative/pessimistic because it is under the base index of 100) and is down two points from last month’s measure of 86. This is still well below its highest mark recorded in its April 2021 inception index measure of 100 (which is neutral because it is the index benchmark).

In anticipation of the inaugural US-Canada Summit hosted by Eurasia Group and BMO Financial Group on April 4th, 2023, Maru Public Opinion and GZERO Media surveyed Canadians and Americans on attitudes towards each other and numerous bilateral issues.

—As U.S. President Joe Biden visits Canada for the first time since taking office, the results of a new Maru Public Opinion /GZERO Media poll finds that while Canadians may think less of the improvement of the Canada/U.S. relationship than Americans do today compared to the Trump era five years ago, they near unanimous on one major potential action being a top priority: both Canadians (91%) and Americans (93%) want security and intelligence efforts boosted to stop foreign powers undermining democracy.

The American Maru Household Outlook Index (“MHOI”) is at 84 (which is negative/pessimistic because it is under the base index of 100) and is down two points from last month’s measure of 86. This is still well below its highest mark recorded in its April 2021 inception index measure of 100 (which is neutral because it is the index benchmark).

A new Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds Americans are more upbeat about the national economy and the outlook for their local economy than last month. However, while they may be more upbeat than last month—especially where half (51%) are now optimistic that their local economy will improve in the next sixty days—majorities believe the state of the US economy is on the wrong track (61%) and (52%) don’t think the national economy will likely improve over the next sixty days.

The February 2023 American Maru Household Outlook (MHOI) Index is at  86 (negative/pessimistic), up three points (+3) from last month.

A new Maru Public Opinion poll undertaken for the U.S. National Mining Association (“NMA”) finds most Americans want a comprehensive energy strategy, support advanced coal and carbon capture technologies, and favor a streamlined mine permitting process to decrease U.S. reliance on foreign countries.

The results of a new Maru Public Opinion poll conducted exclusively for GZERO Media finds that almost a year after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a full majority (76%) of Americans believe the United States should remain involved in the war—but with varying degrees of engagement.

The January 2023 American Maru Household Outlook (MHOI) Index is 83 (negative/pessimistic), with no change from last month.

The December 2022 American Maru Household Outlook (MHOI) Index is at 83* (negative/pessimistic), up three points from last month.

A new GZERO/ Maru Public Opinion poll finds a majority (57%) of Americans believe it’s time the US government increased its regulatory powers and penalties over the owners of social media companies and their platforms to put a stop to hate speech appearing on their platform because, despite all the talk from the owners, it’s apparent they can’t or won’t do it themselves.

A new Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds that with Christmas and the seasonal holidays bearing down on Americans, the vast majority still have a lot of intended shopping to do.

While just one in ten (9%) claim they are done with nothing left in their total gift-giving budget for 2022, and three in ten (29%) reveal they’ve not yet spent any of their budgets, the average American consumer still has 71.9% of the total gift-giving budget to spend.

A new GZERO/ Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds that consumer spending may be less for this year's Christmas/holiday season than a year ago, and those lighter wallets are primarily due to inflation. Even though one in five (19%) Americans indicate spending more this holiday season than last year, three in ten (27%) say they will be spending less.

A new Yahoo US/ Maru Public Opinion poll released today probes Americans and their views about a potential recession and employed Americans regarding their sense of job security should a recession occur.

A recession is marked by a six-month decline in economic activity—where consumers stop spending, which causes sales to drop, businesses to cut costs and reduce prices, postpone new investments, and start laying off people.

The American Maru Household Outlook Index (“MHOI”) is at 86 (which is negative/pessimistic under the index base of 100), down one point from last month’s measure of 87. This is still well below its most recent highest mark recorded in May 2021 when it topped 103 (which is positive/optimistic with anything over the index base of 100). Gap scores are computed by simply subtracting the negative from the positive results.

A new Maru Public Opinion survey released today finds that mainstream media sources still dominate where Americans who follow the news (86%) get their daily fill—but not surprisingly, of the twenty-three daily consulted news sources measured, their utilization varies significantly by age group. The results and accompanying charts were made available to coincide with World News Day 2022, a global campaign to amplify the power and impact of fact-based journalism.