Confidence slips again
| New York
The slide in US consumer confidence continued for the fifth straight month in March, the Conference Board reports. The Consumer Confidence Index (1969-1970 equals 100) lost another 4.5 points in March and now stands at 71.9. It has declined about 12 points since last October.
Rising numbers of families consider current business conditions to be bad and report that jobs are "hard to get." And a growing number of families have grown more apprehensive about the future course of the economy.
While overall confidence in the economy keeps falling, buying plans are holding up quite well. The Buying Plans Index is now 114, up 7 points over March.
