Consumer confidence down in first quarter of 2004 - SA

By Sapa

Pretoria - Consumer confidence dropped "sharply" during the first quarter of 2004, taking many analysts by surprise, First National Bank chief economist Cees Bruggemans said on Monday.

The FNB/Bureau of Economic Research (BER) Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) declined from plus one in the fourth quarter of last year to -10 in the first quarter of 2004, he said.

The present level of consumer confidence was slightly higher than the -12 level of the third quarter of 2003, but much lower than the first half of 2003 that registered minus three and minus two respectively in the total confidence levels.

"The drop in consumer confidence did come as a surprise," Bruggemans said.

The half a percentage point cut in the prime overdraft rate of December 2003, lower inflation, the absolute decline in the prices of imported consumer goods and the continued rally of house and share prices should have supported high income earners' confidence.

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=552&fArticleId=393716

In the USA I'm paying $3 a gallon and my savings account has been getting 0.5% interest for the last 3.2 years but I'm confident. NOT!

then we can take back America!!!!!

no one's impressed by the alleged (and soon to be downwardly-revised) 308,000 new jobs

(The jobs data.) Why doesn't Move On or the Dems. put together a commercial showing the Media Whores saying this exact sentence every week for the last 3 years? I swear. I'm miffed. I'm bamboozeled. I'm afraid! This is clear fact of record of TV video recorded history in the USA. I don't even watch that much TV and I hear it a few times a week. How can the Media Whores get away with saying this constantly over the last 3 years?

:eyes:

Incredible. Complete Orwellian speak.