Consumer Sentiment Index Falls As Housing Woes Deepen

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg News

Confidence among U.S. consumers fell more than forecast in October as the housing slump deepened and fuel prices rose.

The Reuters/University of Michigan final sentiment index dropped to 80.9, the lowest level since May 2006, from 83.4 in September.

The measure is trailing the 89.6 average for the first half of the year and is also lower than year-earlier readings.

Declines in home values and increases in heating-oil and natural-gas costs have soured consumer attitudes on the economy. Still, more jobs and higher wages have prevented confidence from dropping even more, easing the risk that spending will collapse in coming months.

Sentiment is "pretty low and I expect will remain low or weaken further," Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said before the report. "It doesn't bode well, but spending has sort-of hung in there."



Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/102707dnbusconsumersentiment.5e730a.html

[pattmarty]

1. What the fuck is the "Consumer sentiment index"?

[Purveyor]

3. "Search engines" are quite a useful tool. Here you go...

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mcsi.asp

[pattmarty]

8. I was being SARCASTIC. I believe it used to be called the consumer price index.

[jordi_fanclub]

4. There are 2-two answers to such substantive question...

The LONG (wikipedian) answer:

"... is a consumer confidence index published monthly by the University of Michigan.
The index is normalized to have a value of 100 in December of 1964.
The Index of Consumer Expectations focuses on three broad areas
- How consumers view prospects for their own financial situation
- How they view prospects for the general economy over the near term
- Their view of prospects for the economy over the long term."

The SHORT answer:

"Is that index that usually skyrocket the stocks when is good and that Wall Street unknown when is very ugly"

[Tempest]

2. Wait until heating cost sticker shock sinks in

"People are panicking. They're calling every other day, every day," said Adams, owner of Adams Petroleum in Emsworth, a family business that's been delivering heating oil for nearly 75 years.

"They ask me, 'What should we do?' I tell them, 'My crystal ball is cloudy, I don't know,'" Adams said.

The only certainty concerning heating oil, electricity and natural gas used for heating homes this coming winter is that prices are rising -- quickly and substantially, experts said.

--
"Heating oil is expensive. It's already at a near-record price and it's not even cold yet," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "Prices have been going up each year but this year's prices could really shock people."

The Energy Information Administration projects that for this winter heating season, which began Oct. 1 and runs through March 31, Northeast retail heating oil prices will be about 40 cents a gallon higher than one year ago, averaging around $2.89 a gallon.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3044125

[shimbo]

5. Recession Meme

The 2001 recession was preceding by an increasing frequency of the word "recession" in general conversation. In Aug, 2006, I ran a "recession" frequency count on Google's Trends tool and it showed no similiar pattern.

http://www.realmeme.com/roller/page/realmeme?entry=recession_meme_revisited

But today, fourteen months later, I re-ran that query and I'm surprised at the similarity to the frequency count just preceding the 2001 recession. Recession has entered the general mindset of the public.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Could it be that it's because we're in a recession?

:shrug:

[WCGreen]

7. And yet Wall Street keeps percing along....

Bouyed international ties to the American markets...

Wait until this Christmas season comes around...

If we have a cold snap in New England, the area of the country most dependent on Heating Oil, watch out...