U.S., Europeans fretful about finances

Confidence among U.S. consumers inched up in August as the prospects for the overall economy improved — but consumers continued to fret about their personal finances. The Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment increased to a reading of 63.0 in August, up from 61.2 in July. But that number is markedly below the 83.4 reading recorded in August 2007. The final reading for the month was slightly lower than the preliminary reading of 61.7 (InvestmentNews, Aug. 15). “Despite the decline in gas prices, consumers have remained quite negative about their personal financial prospects and expressed the weakest buying plans recorded in thirty years,” Richard Curtin, the director of the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement. “Record numbers of consumers not only attributed their dismal finances to high food and fuel prices, but outright income declines were reported by the third highest proportion in the past half-century,” he added. Thomson Reuters is based in New York, and the University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor. Across the pond, European consumers were feeling pessimistic: The Economic Sentiment Indicator inched down to 88.8 from 89.5 in July, dropping to its lowest level since December 1993, the European Commission reported today. The EC is based in Brussels, Belgium.