Tuesday September 25, 10:06 am Eastern Time
Consumer Confidence Plunges
Consumer Confidence Plunges After Terrorist Attacks Aggravate Frail U.S. Economy
By LISI de BOURBON
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Consumer confidence plunged in September as last week's terrorist attacks exacerbated Americans' concerns about the already frail U.S. economy, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
The New York-based business group said its Consumer Confidence Index sank to 97.6 from a revised 114.0 in August.
The figure is based on data collected before and after Sept. 11, when hijackers commandeered four commercial planes and crashed them in New York, Washington and outside Pittsburgh.
The slide, the largest monthly point drop since October 1990 during the Persian Gulf War, throws even more support behind many economists' predictions that the strikes would tip the already battered U.S. economy into a recession.
``The economy faces tougher times ahead,'' said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. ``While consumers have managed to keep the U.S. out of a recession for several years now, that soon may no longer be the case.''
The markets were mixed following the release of the report, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 11 points to 8,592 and the Nasdaq composite index up 6 points to 1,506.
Consumer Confidence Plunges
Consumer Confidence Plunges After Terrorist Attacks Aggravate Frail U.S. Economy
By LISI de BOURBON
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Consumer confidence plunged in September as last week's terrorist attacks exacerbated Americans' concerns about the already frail U.S. economy, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
The New York-based business group said its Consumer Confidence Index sank to 97.6 from a revised 114.0 in August.
The figure is based on data collected before and after Sept. 11, when hijackers commandeered four commercial planes and crashed them in New York, Washington and outside Pittsburgh.
The slide, the largest monthly point drop since October 1990 during the Persian Gulf War, throws even more support behind many economists' predictions that the strikes would tip the already battered U.S. economy into a recession.
``The economy faces tougher times ahead,'' said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. ``While consumers have managed to keep the U.S. out of a recession for several years now, that soon may no longer be the case.''
The markets were mixed following the release of the report, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 11 points to 8,592 and the Nasdaq composite index up 6 points to 1,506.
