Home prices, consumer confidence sag

August home prices slumped for the eighth consecutive month and consumer confidence took a downward turn in September. The Conference Board's weekly Consumer Confidence Index fell to 95.6 from a revised reading of 99.5 in September. The reading was the lowest since the index posted an 85.2 reading in October 2005 when gas and oil prices rose after Hurricane Katrina. The Present Situation Index, which measures how shoppers feel now about the economy, fell to 118.8 from a reading of 121.2 in September. The Expectations Index, which measures shoppers' outlook over the next six months, dropped to 80.1 from a reading of 85.0. "Consumers are growing more pessimistic about the short-term future and their rather bleak outlook suggests a less than stellar ending to this year," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center," in a statement. On another negative note, the S&P/Case-Shiller index, which measures home prices in 10 U.S. metropolitan areas, fell 5% in August from a year ago. The decrease, which marked the largest drop since June 1991, fell short of the largest ever decline of 6.3% in April 1991. Meanwhile, a broader index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 4.4% in August over last year, with 15 of 20 metropolitan areas reporting that prices fell.