Consumer Confidence

WASHINGTON -- Consumer confidence took its steepest fall in nearly three years in June, dropping to the lowest level since late last year, the Conference Board reported yesterday.The surprisingly big decline reported by the New York-based business research group was taken as a sign that consumers, their incomes growing slowly and saddled with high debt, will continue to spend cautiously in coming months.Still, analysts tended to play down the effect of this latest economic reading on the Federal Reserve, which many believe is likely to reduce short-term interest rates at a meeting next week.

Is this really the best anyone in Washington can do to avert sequestration? President Barack Obama's call for delaying the automatic spending cuts past the March 1 deadline would seem reasonable enough, except he hasn't really offered up a specific plan to do so. Instead, he's recommended that a few months of delay might be achieved through a "smaller package of spending cuts and tax reform. " Republicans are flatly rejecting any form of tax increase (and, apparently, ending a tax break on corporate jets is regarded as just that by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell)

WASHINGTON -- High employment levels boosted U.S. consumer confidence in December, analysts said.The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 102.6 this month from 101.3 in November, according to the average of nine forecasts in a Bloomberg Business News survey. NTC The business research group is expected to issue the report today. Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 98.5 to 108.5.Heading into the new year, consumer confidence is likely to wane as holiday bills come in and the cost of borrowing rises, analysts said.

Consumers plan to spend the same or more than last year on holiday shopping, new consumer research shows. A holiday spending survey by market research firm The NPD Group shows that 10 percent of consumers expect to spend more than last year, while 67 percent plan to spend about the same amount. The percentage of consumers who plan to maintain or boost spending  has grown slightly from NPD's 2011 holiday spending survey. Meanwhile, the share of consumers who will spend less than they did last year is decreasing.

NEW YORK -- Stocks declined yesterday as the Conference Board said consumer confidence fell in October and weak technology issues pushed down Nasdaq stocks."

Concern over the Persian Gulf crisis drove U.S. consumer confidence in January to its lowest point in 10 years, according to a survey.But the New York-based Conference Board said yesterday that its survey indicated confidence could quickly rise if the Mideast war ends soon.Consumer confidence fell sharply in the first part of the month, but picked up slightly after war in the Persian Gulf broke out because of early indications that the conflict would end quickly, said Fabian Linden, the board's executive director.

CHICAGO -- Not only homebuilders are being hit by the weakness in the sale of new homes this year. So are mortgage bankers.Indeed, some of these bankers have found their business plunging since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait damaged consumer confidence.Last month the value of loans originated by a nationwide sample of large mortgage bankers declined 30 percent compared to September 1989, says Thomas Wratten of Metmor Financial Inc., based in Overland Park, Kan.Metmor originates residential mortgage loans for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

THE CONFERENCE BOARD reports that its index of consumer confidence, which measures consumers' willingness to spend, declined in July. The index dropped 3.4 points to 135.6, from a revised 139 in June. The larger-than-expected downturn followed eight months of consecutive gains in the index, which had culminated in a 30-year high and followed the Federal Reserve's move to nudge up interest rates.Is the drop just a blip after several record months, or does it signify a more pronounced slowing in the economy?

WASHINGTON -- Consumer confidence in the U.S. economy soared in June to its highest level in three decades, suggesting that strong spending will help cushion a worsening outlook for manufacturing and exports to Asia.The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence, released yesterday, rose to 137.6 this month from 136.3 in May, propelled by an abundance of jobs, low interest rates, low inflation and stock market gains, the New York-based business research group said.Factory activity in the Midwest slowed in June, according to the National Association of Purchasing Management, suggesting a broader slowdown in U.S. manufacturing.

Bill Clinton's economic program isn't playing any better on Main Street than the president's $200 haircut, according to the latest consumer confidence poll.Virtually all the postelection surge in optimism about the new administration's ability to turn the economy around quickly has evaporated, the Conference Board survey for May showed.Confidence in May plunged to the lowest level since October, the private research group said yesterday. And job worries are intensifying despite few reports of major new layoffs and Labor Department data suggesting that job growth picked up modestly in the past six months.

ADVERTORIAL CONTENT Investing in the housing market was once practically a no brainer. Through the downturn, however, many of the fixed  assumptions about housing - that property values would  always rise and equity would naturally grow - became variable, leaving many consumers questioning the extent to which the real estate market was a good investment option for them, or if now was the time to purchase that new home they have always wanted....

Bettie Dunkin was surprisingly unfazed by the financial turmoil of the last few days. The 53-year-old accountant, who had been out of work for months and only recently landed a temporary job, spoke for many Americans when she said: "We're getting numb. " Consumers and businesses have been buffeted by a spate of bad economic news in the past three years. For every positive sign that a recovery has taken hold, there were other signals that raised doubts. Then came Monday's stock market plunge on the heels of the unprecedented downgrade of the country's credit rating.

NEW YORK - Americans' outlook on the economy went into relapse in February. Rising job worries sent a key barometer of confidence to its lowest point in 10 months. The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index fell almost 11 points to 46 in February, from January. Analysts were expecting only a slight decrease to 55. It was the lowest level since a 40.8 reading in April 2009. A reading above 90 means the economy is on solid footing. - Associated Press

CHICAGO - Americans' confidence in the economy improved modestly in January for the third straight month, as they begin to feel slightly better about business conditions and the job picture, according to a survey released Tuesday. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased to 55.9 - the highest in more than a year but still relatively gloomy. That compares with 53.6 in December. Economists watch confidence numbers because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Consumers are shopping less, driving less, eating out less and taking fewer trips. With the economy in a tailspin, there's talk of people rediscovering the art of coupon clipping. The economic turmoil of the past month, only adding to previous housing and credit woes, has consumers scared and pulling back in a big way. Consumer confidence hit lows earlier this year, and it's expected to go even lower. Unemployment is rising. The presidential election adds its own measure of uncertainty.

Auto sales dropped sharply in September as consumer unease mounted in the face of the crisis on Wall Street and restricted credit. Toyota Motor Corp., Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. reported U.S. sales declines of more than 30 percent for the month, compared with September 2007, while Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. showed sharp downturns, as well. Overall, the industry sold 964,873 vehicles - a 26.6 percent slide from a year earlier and its biggest percentage drop in 17 years, Autodata Corp.

BRUSSELS - European consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than five years this month and inflation slowed for the first time since June, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to pare interest rates next week. A European Commission survey of 25,000 consumers in the dozen nations sharing the euro fell to minus 14 from October's minus 12. A separate survey of the same number of companies showed that they expect to pare jobs. The inflation rate fell to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent the previous month.

A Constellation spinoff is seeking 'alternatives' Constellation Energy Partners, a limited liability company formed and partly owned by Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group, announced yesterday that it is exploring "strategic alternatives," which means it is interested in finding a buyer, among several options. CEP, which hired Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities to provide advice, said its board of managers has not decided to pursue any particular alternative. The company noted the market environment and Constellation Energy Group's proposed $4.7 billion sale to Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings as factors in reviewing its options.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy grew at a faster rate in the first quarter of this year than previously thought, the government reported yesterday, further muddying the question of whether or not the sluggish U.S. economy is in recession. Between January and March, the U.S. economy grew by 0.9 percent, not the 0.6 percent projected a month ago, the Commerce Department said. Normally, such a slight upward revision wouldn't merit much attention. But economists and policymakers are confounded by today's economy, which is being dragged down by a deep housing slump and soaring energy prices.