US consumer confidence sinks

[Naveed Yaseen]

WASHINGTON: US consumer confidence plunged to a record low in October as stressed consumers turned sharply more pessimistic and a global financial crisis bites, the Conference Board said on Tuesday. The business research firm said its consumer confidence index plummeted to 38.0, down from 61.4 in September, sounding alarms on consumer spending that drives the bulk of the economy, just ahead of the important year-end holiday shopping season. Most analysts had expected a more modest decline to 52.0. “The impact of the financial crisis over the last several weeks has clearly taken a toll on consumers’ confidence,” Lynn Franco, the Conference Board’s chief economist, said in a statement.

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