While the cruise line companies have just been recovering from the pandemic setback, the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes are raising worries about cruise companies’ huge debt loads and ability to recover amid an economic slowdown. “There’s a lot of one step forward, one step back going on,” Truist analyst Patrick Scholes said.
Moreover, the Fed will likely raise interest rates by another 75 bps in November 2022. Persistently high inflation and consecutive rate hikes have negatively impacted consumer confidence. According to the Conference Board, its consumer confidence index fell to 102.5 in October, down 4.9% month-over-month.
