Consumer confidence rated at a record low

The University of Michigan Survey Research Center Monday said consumer confidence in the economy last month reached the lowest point ever recorded in the 34 years it has been doing quarterly surverys. Forty-eight percent of the consumers reported they were worse off financially than a year earlier, more than at any time since the early 1950s; 38 percent felt conditions were unfavorable for buying durable goods, up from 25 percent in March, 1979; and 53 percent expected price increases of 10 percent or more during the next 12 months.