Conference Board's Confidence Index and others show declines

The Consumer Confidence Index for December slipped somewhat in December, according to the Conference Board, declining to 128.1 from 136.4 in November. Other indexes slumped as well: the Present Situation Index – how consumers' feel about the current business and labor situation – declined from 172.7 to 171.6, and the Expectations Index, meant to reflect consumers' short-term outlook for the economy, is down from 112.3 last month to 99.1.