Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Consumer Confidence Plunge Sends Stocks Lower



from Fox Business:

U.S. September consumer confidence ebbed to its lowest levels since February, driven by deteriorating labor market and business conditions, according to a private report released on Tuesday.
The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 48.5 in September from a revised 53.2 in August.
Inflation expectations eased slightly, even after the Federal Reserve has said it is ready to take action to keep yields down in an effort to stimulate growth. Consumers' one year inflation expectations edged down to 4.9 percent from 5.0 percent the previous month.
The median of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters was for a main September reading of 52.5. Forecasts ranged from 48.0 to 55.0.
The August reading was revised down slightly from an original 53.5.
The expectations index slipped to 65.4 from 72.0 last month.