SURPRISE! Consumer confidence "unexpectantly" DROPS. [View All]

[ShaneGR]

The stock market people missed this one by about 10 points. But nevermind all of that! We're in a recovery! Things are hopping! Pay no attention to the unemployment numbers, future layoffs, lost profits, crappy 401K numbers....

We're recovering!!

http://money.excite.com/ht/nw/bus/20030729/hle_bus-n29289619.html

(snip)
Consumer Confidence Suffers Surprise Drop




Tuesday July 29, 10:54 AM EDT

By Wayne Cole

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence took a surprise spill in July as worries over rising unemployment took a heavy toll, the Conference Board reported on Tuesday.

The private research group's monthly consumer confidence index slid to 76.6 in July from 83.5 in June. That was the lowest reading since March, when the attack on Iraq was in full swing, and completely confounded analysts, who had looked for an improvement to 85.0.

"It's a bit of a disappointment, like two steps forward and one step back," said Jim O'Sullivan, an economist at UBS. "People are obviously concerned about jobs."

The index that measures jobs hard-to-get rose to 33.1 percent in July from 31.9 percent in June, its highest level since January, 1994. That mirrored the national unemployment rate, which jumped to 6.4 percent in June, also a nine-year high.