• Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008

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Consumer confidence plunged again in April

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By Diane Stafford | Kansas City Star

Consumer confidence tumbled again in April, according to the 5,000 household survey conducted monthly by The Conference Board.

The business research organization said its proprietary index fell to 62.3 in April after a steep decline to 65.9 in March, indicating a “glass half empty” view of the economy.

In April a year ago, the index stood at 106.3. The confidence index slipped slightly in the fourth quarter 2007 but began plummeting in 2008.

“This continued weakening suggests that not only has the feeble level of growth in the first quarter spilled over into the second quarter, but that economic conditions may have slowed even further,” said Lynn Franco, director of the board’s Consumer Research Center.

Franco said higher gasoline prices, a weaker job market, and overall inflation worries combined to create more pessimism.

“The percentage of respondents intending to take a vacation over the next six months has fallen to a 30-year low, another sign of consumers turning more cost conscious,” Franco said.

More consumers in April rated business conditions as “bad” and more rated jobs as “hard to get” compared to a month ago, with similar increases among those expecting conditions to worsen over the next six months.

“The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined to 15.1 percent from 16.1 percent,” the report said.

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