On Nov 20, 2007, at 6:05 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> Doug Henwood wrote:
>>
>> ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST CONSUMER INDEX – 11/18/07
>> EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007
>>
>> Pessimism Spikes, Confidence Low
>>
>> Economic pessimism spiked this week to its worst in 17 years, with 68
>> percent of Americans saying the economy is getting worse – up a sharp
>> 13 points from last month to its highest since November 1990, shortly
>> after the economy fell into a recession.
>
> I never have any specific opinion on what the economy is going to
> do, so
> I have no opinion on the current predictions of doom, denial of such
> predictions, etc.
This is all well within normal business cycle parameters, so far. You usually see drops in sentiment/confidence just before or at the beginning of recessions.