Consumer confidence hits all-time low

Confidence among U.S. consumers continued to sink like a stone this month amid soaring gasoline and food prices and the worst stock market since the Great Depression, a new reading of consumer attitudes showed. The RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Households Index, compiled by RBC Capital Markets Corp. of New York, set a new all-time low of 14.6 this month, dropping from 22.5 in June. The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' economic outlook, fell to -54.7 this month, compared with -43.9 in June. The Current Conditions Index lost 10 points to fall to a reading of 30.5, down from a reading of 40.5 last month. The Investment Index dropped to a reading of 36.1, compared with 45.1 in June. The Jobs Index, which measures Americans' perception of their job security, inched up to 89.1, from 87.3 last month. The indexes were compiled from a sample of 1,000 U.S. adults polled between June 26 and June 29 by Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs, a Toronto-based research company.