As soon as there's some good news, maybe then Americans will start to cheer up. With housing numbers falling again and Q4 numbers coming soon enough, confidence could easily hit another new low.
A key measure of consumer confidence fell to an all-time low in December amid a dismal job market and uncertain outlook for the new year.
The Conference Board, a New York-based business research group, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 38 in December from the downwardly revised 44.7 in November.
Economists were expecting the index to increase to 45.5, according to a Briefing.com consensus survey of economists.
"The further erosion of the Consumer Confidence Index reflects the rapid and steep deterioration of economic conditions that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2008," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a statement.
The gloomy news came at the end of a full year of recession. The credit crunch has strained the financial system as central banks struggle to raise capital.
At the same time, housing prices have plunged and S&P 500 has plummeted more than 40%. The dollar has been weak against major currencies. This year's holiday retail season is predicted to have been the worst in decades.
