US consumers feel pessimistic and depressed

[lovuian]

http://english.pravda.ru/business/finance/13-07-2007/94922-usa-consumers-0

Consumer confidence in the United States slid to its lowest point in almost a year, as worries about job availability, high gasoline prices and the severity of the housing slump weighed on peoples' minds.





The steep drop disappointed economists and raised fresh questions about consumers' appetite to spend in the months ahead; their spending is a major shaper of the country's economic health.

The RBC Cash Index showed that confidence tumbled to 76.1 in July. That was considerably weaker than June's 81.4 and was the worst reading since last August. The index is based on the results from the international polling firm Ipsos.

To a lesser extent, the deterioration in confidence also may have been influenced by concerns about terrorism - fanned by the attempted car bombings last month in London and Glasgow - and violence in Iraq, analysts said.

"Consumers feel more pessimistic. There is a spreading sense of insecurity and concern," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services.

The erosion in confidence comes as the public gave U.S. President George W. Bush a job-approval rating of just 33 percent in July, according to a separate AP-Ipsos poll. On the economy, only 37 percent approve of his performance. Both figures are close to record lows. more...

These times remind me of Coolidge and Hoover days

[loudsue]

1. And the rest of us, who aren't little consumer units??? We're all happy?

Sheesh! Why don't they call us citizens or something?

:kick:

[lovuian]

2. People sad and depressed

thats how it would sound

[marions ghost]

3. I'm not sure I've ever been a

"confident consumer.":shrug:

[Hidden Stillness]

4. All of Life is Stopped, as the Economy Goes Down...

All I do anymore is pay bills and buy food. I feel like I am in a race against time to try to pay off my credit card bill before the next huge emergency--car repairs, something with the house, etc.--happens. I can't drive the car anymore except when necessary, because I can't afford the gas, things do not get repaired right away, or at all, the way they used to--I feel like I'm waiting for something, before I can live again. All of life is just a holding-pattern now, pay bills, food, try to get the credit card down...that is it. I want to live again, but I don't dare spend money, except for bills.