MARKET HEADLINES
- Banks Boost Markets, Strategists Cautious
- Asian Stocks Pare Gains on Iran Missile Report
- Oil Rebounds $2 on Iran Missile Tests
- Alcoa Profit, Sales Top Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Dimon: 'Things Could Actually Get Worse'
- Increased Volatility Likely in Search for Market Bottom
- Bernanke: Derivatives Management Needs Help
- Long-Dated Bonds Benefit as Inflation Fears Subside
- Just the Beginning of a Long Stock Slide?
- Euro Shares Sink on Fresh Bank Worries
- Out of the Gate: International Speedway skids
- Out of the Gate: Alcoa shares up after 2Q results
- Ahead of the Bell: EMC and VMWare
- Ahead of the Bell: RBC cuts target on Cisco
- Ahead of the Bell: Baird upgrades VeriSign
- Ahead of the Bell: Arris Group cuts outlook
- Ahead of the Bell: Potash producers
- Sector Preview: June same-store sales seen up
- Vectren cuts 2008 guidance on gas-marketing unit
- Hawaiian Airlines June traffic falls
The U of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index of 62.6 is at its lowest level since March 1982 when it hit 62.0. The 30 year low for the index is 51.7 set in May 1980. The index peaked at 112 right before the internet bubble burst in January 2000.
 |
Large troughs in the index typically coincide with recessions. Consumer spending is the primary driver of the US economy. As consumers become more worried about the economy, they spend less.
The news is weighing on the stock markets this morning, as the major indices have given up their gains for the day.
Leading the S&P 500 to the downside are Ford [F
Loading...
()
], Genworth Financial [GNW
Loading...
()
], MEMC Electronics [WFR
Loading...
()
], Microsoft [MSFT
Loading...
()
] and Altria [MO
Loading...
()
].
Del.icio.us
Digg It
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes