(Business Insider) Consumer confidence in Russia just sank below levels seen during the financial crisis, with almost one-fifth (18%) of Russians earning only enough to buy food and other basic necessities.
The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index dropped by seven points in the first quarter of 2015 to 72 points, as the recession in Russia and high consumer-price inflation have undermined optimism over the future.
To put that number in perspective, in the first quarter of 2009 with the global financial system in free fall after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the index never fell below 75.