Americans increasingly fearful about finances

Confidence among Americans regarding their future personal financial conditions and the jobs market continue to decline, dropping the index near to its all-time low of this past July. The RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Households Index, compiled by RBC Capital Markets Corp. of New York, fell 19.4 points to a reading of 15.3 in early December. That reading was slightly higher than the 14.6 reading from July, which marked the all-time low for the index since its inception in 2002. The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' economic outlook, fell 44.5 points this month to -21.2. The Current Conditions Index fell to 16.5, down from 25.6 last month. The Investment Index, which measures Americans' attitudes regarding stock and real estate investments, declined to 31 last month, compared with 34.8 in November. The Jobs Index, which measures Americans' perception of their job security, fell 8.4 points to 65.6, from 74 last month. "The rebound in sentiment in late summer due to falling oil prices has been almost completely reversed as newer problems, including the credit crunch, deteriorating jobs market and problems in Detroit, have erupted," T.J. Marta, economic and fixed-income strategist for RBC Capital Markets, said in a statement. The indexes were compiled from a sample of 1,000 U.S. adults polled Dec. 4-8 by Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs, a Toronto-based research company. RBC Capital Markets is part of the Royal Bank of Canada of Toronto.