Consumer Confidence Fell to a 26-Year Low

April 25, 2008
Consumer Confidence Fell to a 26-Year Low

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer confidence fell more than forecast in April to a 26-year low as record fuel prices and rising unemployment threatened to reduce spending.

The Reuters/University of Michigan sentiment index decreased to 62.6, from 69.5 the previous month. The measure was down from a preliminary estimate of 63.2 issued on April 11.

Consumer Confidence Falls to Record Low

April 31, 2008
Consumer Confidence Falls to Record Low

WASHINGTON -- Americans' confidence in the economy fell to a new low, dragged down by worries about mounting job losses, record-high home foreclosures and zooming energy prices.

According to the RBC Cash Index, confidence dropped to a mark of 29.5 in April, down from 33.1 in March. The new reading was the worst since the index began in 2002. It marked the fourth month in a row where confidence has fallen to an all-time low.

"Consumers are very pessimistic," said Mark Vitner, economist at Wachovia. "There are not a lot of happy campers out there."

Job Worries Sink Consumer Confidence

February 26, 2008
Job Worries Sink Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence plunged in February as Americans worried about less-favorable business conditions and job prospects, a business-backed research group said Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 75 this month from a revised 87.3 in January.

The reading was the lowest since the index registered 64.8 in February 2003, just before the U.S. invaded Iraq, researchers said, and was far below the 83 expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

U.S. Economy: Confidence Drops, Factories Stagnate

February 15, 2008
U.S. Economy: Confidence Drops, Factories Stagnate

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among American consumers slumped to the lowest level since 1992 and factory output failed to increase, indicating the damage from the housing contraction is pushing the economy toward a recession.

The Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to 69.6 in February from 78.4 the previous month. The Federal Reserve said manufacturing production was unchanged in January after two months of gains, while a gauge of activity at New York factories contracted this month.

Consumer Comfort Index Reports Largest Decrease Recorded

August 21, 2007
Consumer Comfort Index Reports Largest Decrease Recorded

Consumer comfort plummeted this week amid turbulence in the stock market and a seemingly infectious crisis in the home mortgage market.

The Washington Post-ABC News consumer comfort index (CCI), a barometer of the public's assessment of current economic conditions, plunged nine points this week, the biggest ever one-week drop since the poll started in late 1985.

The CCI now stands at -20 on its scale of --100 to +100, well off its high for the year, +2 in March, and near its post-Hurricane Katrina lows. After that storm devastated the Gulf Coast two years ago, consumer confidence quickly dropped by 11 points before recovering several months later.

Food, housing, and healthcare costs rose at a 6 percent yearly rate

March 19, 2007
Inflation is eating US wage gains

Food, housing, and healthcare costs rose at a 6 percent yearly rate in the past three months.

Consumers are being buffeted from several directions. The resurgence of inflation comes even as homeowners face a dip in property values and as the stock market has sagged from a recent peak. All this dragged consumer confidence down a notch in an index released Friday by the University of Michigan.