U.S. Economy: Confidence Sinks to Record Low on Jobs, Mortgages

By Shobhana Chandra and Bob Willis

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer confidence sank to the lowest level in at least 41 years this month as Americans grew more concerned about keeping their jobs and paying their mortgages, raising the risk they’ll spend less next year.

The Conference Board’s sentiment index unexpectedly fell to 38, the lowest reading since records began in 1967, the New York-based private research group said today. Another report showed that a drop in home values accelerated in October as credit dried up.

Economists had been counting on a plunge in gasoline prices to improve consumers’ moods. The decline in confidence signals that spending will tumble further next year and prolong the recession after a holiday shopping season that may have been the worst in at least four decades.

“The deterioration going on right now in the labor market made people feel much worse,â€