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Wednesday, October 1, 2003
THE BATTALION
September consumer confidence
falls more than nation expected
By Annie D'Innocenzio
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Consumer confidence
NEW YORK — Dragged
down by a still-sluggish job
market, consumer confidence in
the economy dropped more
sharply than expected in
September.
The sour report and a disap
pointing reading on business
activity in the Midwest helped
send stocks lower on Wall
Street. The Dow Jones industrial
average was down nearly 70
points in afternoon trading.
The Consumer Confidence
Index fell to 76.8, down nearly
five points from the revised 81.7
registered in August, the
Conference Board reported
Tuesday.
The decrease was steeper
than expected — analysts were
looking for a reading of 80.5. It
was the biggest decline since
July, when consumer sentiment
fell 6.5 points to 77. The index
had bounced back in August.
“The lack of improvement in
labor market conditions contin
ues to dampen consumers’ spir
its,” said Lynn Franco, director
of the board’s consumer
research center. “Despite
September’s retreat, consumers
remain cautiously optimistic
about the outlook for the next
six months. Consumer spending
is likely to continue at or near
current levels.”
Here is a look at the Consumer
Confidence Index from a survey
of 5,000 U.S. households.
Seasonally adjusted. 1985= 100
120
110
One month ago 81.7
One year ago 93.7
100
90
76.8
80
70
60
OND J FMAMJ JAS
2003
SOURCE: The Conference Board AP
Economists closely track
consumer confidence because
consumer spending accounts for
two-thirds of U.S. economic
activity.
“We have enjoyed a period
of optimism over the summer,”
said Gary Thayer, chief econo
mist at A. G. Edwards & Sons
Inc., referring to the tax cuts,
victory in Iraq and gains in the
stock market. “But now we
are seeing a more sober view
of things, primarily because
of jobs.”
The nation’s unemployment
rate dipped to 6.1 percent in
August, but businesses cut
93,000 jobs, the seventh month
in a row of job losses. Robusi
productivity gains, meanwhile,
have allowed companies to pro
duce more with fewer workers,
Still, consumer spending has
continued to grow moderately,
increasing by 0.8 percent last
month on top of a 0.9 percent
advance in July. Larger pay
checks and other incentives from
President Bush’s third tax cuthas
helped prop up spending.
Consumers anticipating that
business conditions will
improve over the next sit
months slipped to 21.4 percent
from 22.6 percent in August,
Those anticipating business con
ditions to deteriorate rose to
11.9 percent from 10.6 percent.
Those anticipating the job
market to improve in the next
six months decreased to 16.1
percent from 18.0 percent.
Those expecting fewer jobs to
become available increased to
21.0 percent from 18.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the Purchasing
Management Association of
Chicago said that its index of
area business activity fell to 51.2
in September on a seasonally
adjusted basis from 58.9 in
August. Economists were antic
ipating a much smaller decline
to 57.0.
Still, a reading above 50indi
cates that business is expanding
and September marked the fifth
straight month that the
Midwestern business barometer
indicated growth.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Hormones may raise risk of
ovarian cancer, study says
CHICAGO (AP) — Estrogen-progestin pills do
not reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and might
even increase it, according to a study that rais
es more red flags about a once widely accepted
treatment for women going through
menopause.
The findings came from the federally funded
Women’s Health Initiative study, part of which
was abruptly halted in 2002 because of evi
dence that estrogen-progestin pills raise the risk
of breast cancer, heart attacks and strokes.
The new analysis found that 32 of the 16,608
participants developed ovarian cancer during
about 5 1/2 years of follow-up. There were 20
cases in women who took hormones and 12 in
those on dummy pills.
The difference is not statistically significant
because the cancer was so rare, but the trends
worrisome, said lead author Garnet Anderw
of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Reseaith
Center in Seattle. The analysis appears in
Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical
Association.
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Craig A. Anders
Skyi
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