Oil dropped 4.3 percent after the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 63.2 from 66 in July. Oil also slumped as the dollar gained against the euro, reducing the appeal of commodities to investors looking for an inflation hedge.
“Consumers are worried about the economy, and thats raising concerns about demand,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest, a Chicago-based brokerage. “Just a few days ago people were worried about inflation. Thats no longer the case.”
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The initiative gives consumers a $3,500 or $4,500 credit at an auto dealership toward the purchase of a new vehicle when they turn in a low-gas mileage vehicle to be scrapped. The program is intended to replace older cars and trucks with newer, greener models, and the trade-in vehicle has to meet minimum requirements, including not being more than 25 years old and its replacement cant cost more than $45,000.
“It can be tricky getting the full value of incentives out of car dealers,” said Jeff Bartlett, - - - - >

Thirty-two percent of U.S. consumers said they are saving more, up 10 percentage points from a year earlier, according to a survey being released today by Deloitte LLP. Sixty-four percent said they would spend less on back-to-school items, compared with 71 percent last year.
Twenty-two percent said they would spend less because of a job loss in the household, Deloitte said in an e-mailed statement. Hundreds of thousands of lost jobs in industries such as autos and construction havent been replaced, according to Labor Department figures. The - - - - >

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which gets almost none of its revenue from retail consumer banking, had a record quarter, reporting earnings of $3.44 billion.
Nine months after accepting more than $200 billion in government rescue funds aimed at preventing a collapse of the financial system, U.S. banks are girding for more losses from mortgages, credit cards and other businesses linked to consumers, while their underwriting and trading units generate revenue at or near all-time highs.
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This link highlights a dilemma for credit-card companies and other debt chasers: By going after wages - an increasingly popular maneuver since the recession began, lawyers say - they risk pushing consumers into bankruptcy court, where judges can reduce or wipe away all sorts of financial obligations.
The apparent relationship between so-called garnishment laws and states bankruptcy rates also bolsters the arguments of consumer advocates, who have long said that intercepting someones wages to pay their debts only increases their financial vulnerability.
After gathering millions of bankruptcy records from 2006 until now, the AP plotted the number of filings for each U.S. - - - - >

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that consumer borrowing dropped 5.2 percent in March, the biggest decline since an 8.1 percent fall in December 1990.
In dollar terms, consumer borrowing plunged by $11.1 billion. Thats the largest dollar amount on records dating to 1943, and more than three times the $3.5 billion drop that economists expected.
The borrowing category that includes credit cards dropped 6.8 percent in March after a 12.1 percent plunge in February. The category that includes auto loans fell 4.2 percent after rising by 1.2 percent in February.
The Commerce Department last week said that the personal savings rate edged up - - - - >

P&G reported a drop in quarterly profit Thursday - nearly 4 percent - for the first time in eight years, and the worlds largest maker of consumer products forecast that its full-year sales would fall as well.
Kellogg Co., the maker of cereal and snacks, said sales were off 3 percent, but its profit climbed 2 percent behind cost cutting. And while P&G rival Colgate-Palmolive Co. saw first-quarter profits up 9 percent on higher prices and cost cuts, revenue was down 6 percent.
Even grocery-store operator Safeway Inc., which has seen sales of its store brands remain strong as consumers keep spending - - - - >

Consumers curbed their spending to an unprecedented degree as they worried about declining home values, tight credit and unemployment. But recent data indicates the worst may be over. The government reported last month that consumer spending rose in February. It was the second month in a row spending rose, following half a year of declines.
Among the major companies reporting earnings, Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. will likely offer some insight into spending habits. VF Corp. is scheduled to report, too, providing some visibility into overall apparel sales.
Furthermore, next week is set to bring significant economic data, including first-quarter gross domestic - - - - >

Purchases advanced 0.2 percent after climbing 1 percent in January, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment was 57.3 in March after 56.3 in February.
Taken together with the spending jump in January, todays figures offer a picture of an economy that remains in recession, while no longer worsening. With a separate report showing California and six other states have unemployment rates above 10 percent, the data make it critical that Federal Reserve and Obama administration stimulus actions - - - - >

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday accused Dish Network of making thousands of phone calls to people on the Do Not Call list. The FTC said Dish is the biggest violator to date, based on the number of complaints to the agency.
The company, in Englewood, Colo., issued a statement denying the allegations. “An independent audit demonstrates that DISH Network is in compliance with do-not-call laws, has proper controls in place, and is well within the safe-harbor provisions of the law,” the statement said. A spokeswoman would not comment further.
According to the FTC, Dish refused to settle the case, so the - - - - >