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Consumer confidence at 16-year low
Drop accompanies plunge in home prices
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK --
Not since George H.W. Bush ran the White House have consumers felt so downbeat about the economy. And the catalyst for much of the gloom -- the housing slump -- shows no signs of abating, new data showed Tuesday.
With Americans losing sleep over rising inflation and tight credit, the housing market is unlikely to rebound soon, spelling more pain for the economy.
"The consumer has no more money to spend," said Dan Alpert, managing director at the investment bank Westwood Capital. "The only way the economy is not going to recede is if someone cooks the books."
Consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since October 1992 when the economy was coming out of a recession, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists monitor sentiment because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.
While higher food and gas prices eat into Americans' wallets and incomes, falling home prices are eroding the value of their largest asset.
U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, the Standard & Poor's/ Case-Shiller national index showed Tuesday, a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.
Prices tumbled more than 14 percent during the quarter and are at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2004.
http://www.kentucky.com/101/story/417243.html
Drop accompanies plunge in home prices
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK --
Not since George H.W. Bush ran the White House have consumers felt so downbeat about the economy. And the catalyst for much of the gloom -- the housing slump -- shows no signs of abating, new data showed Tuesday.
With Americans losing sleep over rising inflation and tight credit, the housing market is unlikely to rebound soon, spelling more pain for the economy.
"The consumer has no more money to spend," said Dan Alpert, managing director at the investment bank Westwood Capital. "The only way the economy is not going to recede is if someone cooks the books."
Consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since October 1992 when the economy was coming out of a recession, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists monitor sentiment because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.
While higher food and gas prices eat into Americans' wallets and incomes, falling home prices are eroding the value of their largest asset.
U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, the Standard & Poor's/ Case-Shiller national index showed Tuesday, a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.
Prices tumbled more than 14 percent during the quarter and are at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2004.
http://www.kentucky.com/101/story/417243.html