Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected the index to drop to 56.5 in June. Consumer confidence index stood at 58.1 in May, 62.8 in April, 65.9 in March, and 76.4 in February.
The board said consumers' evaluation of present-day conditions weakened further in June. Those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 32.4% from 29.7%, while those claiming business conditions are "good" declined to 11.5% from 13.0%.
Consumers' assessment of the job market was considerably more pessimistic than last month. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 30.5% from 28.3, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 14.1% from 16.1%.
Further, the board said consumers' short-term expectations continued to deteriorate in June. Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months increased to 33.9% from 32.9%, while those anticipating business conditions to improve decreased to 8.8% from 10.6%.
Economic Analysis: Once again, in June, the consumer confidence headline says it all, namely: U.S. consumer confidence is very low. The slow growth / no growth U.S. economy is weighing on the typical person's outlook, which is understandable. Stagnant wages for many, record-high energy prices, increasing food prices, uncertain corporate earnings prospects, and the worst housing recession in more than 15 years, suggest difficult economic circumstances for many Americans, and one would expect it to show up in polls / consumer surveys.
In sum, one doesn't have to be a home builder or seller to feel the effects of the U.S. economic slowdown. The public (correctly) senses that economic conditions are not good for individuals and businesses; it will take several months of positive economic data points to reverse this outlook.
Closing Bell: Dubai sends jitters throughout the market (S, BBY)
Heinz looking good after the second quarter?
Why isn't Bank of America updating its shareholders on CEO situation?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-24-2008 @ 11:17AM
Kerry said...
Millionaires club gets bigger, members richer
Did anybody see this headline?
I thought big business was there for the little guy?
6-24-2008 @ 3:05PM
B. Harrison said...
Perhaps the "consumers" / American citizens are finally atching on to the fact that they cannot believe or have much confidence in the propaganda being put out by the Bush Administration or the corporations. All of that propaganda is mostly to moderate the reaction of the American people, and to keep them spending money to keep the economy afloat (without regard to the consumers' indebtedness considerations.)
The basic problems are:
Neither the financial institutions, nor the government have REALLY made FULL DISCLOSURES abour the actual losses, a lot is still being "hidden"; they are afraid of what the public reaction might be if the truth is revealed.
In spite of the publicity about a few indictments of corporate managment, for the most part, the managment who caused the subprime debacle are STILL in place. This doesn't exxactly evoke confidence in their abilityand willingness to fully address the issues and to reveal the truth. Many of the CEOs and CFOs, etc. are NOT being investigated and prosecuted for the CRIMINAL FRAUD that they committed or perpetuated. This is tantamount to letting the CROOKS run the courts.
As usual, Congress is ineffective and impotent about addressing the issues.
Alan Greenspan's "industry self regulation" was a prime casue for the subprime debacle. It allowed the corporations to act irresponsibly.
None of this "happened in a vaccuum" These corporate financial "experts" darn well knew what they were doing . . . that is why they are paid MILLIONS of dollars to "manage" these corporations. Their actions speak twoard BLATANT FRAUD, MISFEASANCE, and MALFEAANCE . . . How can they possibly be left in charge of cleaning up the mess that THEY created???
These CEOs, CFOs, and management personnel should have been FIRED and then PROSECUTED for CRIMINAL FRAUD.