Consumer confidence falls in May, research group says

05:08 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Associated Press

NEW YORK – Consumer confidence soured in May, as Americans fretted about the overall economy's future and the job outlook. The drop in a widely watched barometer of sentiment was the steepest since hurricanes pummeled the Gulf Coast last year, increasing worries about the health of consumer spending.

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday its consumer confidence index fell almost seven points to 103.2, down from the revised 109.8 in April. Still, May's reading was better than the 100.9 expected by analysts.

The decline stalled a rebound seen since November in the aftermath of last year's Gulf of Mexico hurricanes, which sent the index down 18 points in September. The exception was a dip in February when short-lived pessimism over the job market hurt consumer sentiment.

"Consumer confidence, which reached a four-year high in April, lost ground in May," said Lynn Franco, director of the New York-based Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a statement. "Apprehension about the short-term outlook for the economy, the labor market and consumers' earning potential has driven the Expectations Index down to levels not seen since the aftermath of the hurricanes last summer."

Still, Franco said, consumers rate current conditions favorably.

The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' outlook over the next six months, fell to 83.7 in May from 92.3 in April. In fact, the proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to rise in the months ahead fell to the lowest level in three years, the survey reported. The Present Situation Index, which measures how shoppers feel now about economic conditions, slipped to 132.5 from 136.2.

Economists closely monitor consumer confidence because consumer spending accounts for two thirds of all U.S. economic activity.

Souring confidence, along with a jump in oil prices and a lackluster sales report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., sent stocks plunging Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial plummeted 184.18 points, or 1.63 percent, to 11,094.43.

The setback in confidence in May – while anticipated amid higher energy costs – is discouraging for retailers, which have seen sales slow during the month. In fact, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, expects May sales at stores open at least a year to rise a modest 2.3 percent, at the low end of expectations. It cited high gasoline prices as a big factor. Wal-Mart and other major merchants are slated to report monthly results Thursday.

While shoppers have remained resilient in the face of higher gasoline prices, which have been hovering around $3 per gallon, the question is what will it take for consumers to dramatically cut their spending.

An AP-Ipsos poll in early May found 70 percent of Americans expect that increases in gas prices will cause financial hardship over the next six months – up from 51 percent a year earlier. The national telephone survey of 1,000 adults had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

So far, "there is a lot more worry about higher gasoline prices than there is action," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, N.C. "Higher gasoline prices have certainly eaten into purchasing power, but spending is still barreling forward."

But Vitner noted that anxiety is building among consumers about what higher interest rates and higher energy costs will mean to the economy.

In a worrisome report issued last week by the Federal Reserve, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.1 percent in April, the biggest gain in 13 months.

That's making economists nervous that high increases in oil prices are now expanding into other areas of the economy. And the Fed, which has been on an interest-hike campaign over the past two years, is being confronted with the challenge of keeping inflation in check without slowing the economy and hurting the housing market further.

Conflicting economic data is also making shoppers feel more uncertain about their future, said Karl Bjornson, retail strategist at Kurt Salmon Associates.

"We are in this conflicting, choppy water place, and consumers are beginning to be concerned," said Bjornson. He cited fluctuating gasoline prices and mixed messages about the housing market. Recent reports show the housing market has exhibited a split personality, with some hot markets in Florida, California and Arizona slowing down while some laggards are picking up momentum.

The Conference Board index was derived from responses received through May 23 to a survey mailed to 5,000 households in a consumer research panel. The figures released Tuesday include responses from at least 2,500 households.

Consumers' overall assessment of current conditions eased but remains upbeat. But consumers' outlook for the next six months, which improved moderately in April, turned pessimistic in May. Those expecting business conditions to worsen increased to 13.2 percent from 9.3 percent. Those expecting business conditions to improve declined to 16.5 percent from 17.3 percent.

The outlook for the labor market was also less upbeat. Those anticipating more jobs to become available in the coming months declined to 14.6 percent from 15.4 percent in April. Those anticipating fewer jobs rose to 18.2 percent from 16.3 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating their incomes to rise in the months ahead fell to 16.6 percent from 18.0. That was the lowest since July 2003 when it fell to 15.9 percent.

Abandoned building near City Hall slated for condominiums, retail

Board approves $15 million in public subsidies

09:26 AM CDT on Friday, May 12, 2006

By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News

One of downtown Dallas' oldest buildings is primed for renovation from abandoned hulk into condominiums and retail space, now that a City Hall board has approved $15 million in public subsidies for it.

Built in 1910, the structure at 500 S. Ervay St. will be converted to 321 residential units and 45,000 square feet of retail, according to Bisno Development Co., which owns the property.

The building, vacant for most of the decade, sits across Ervay from City Hall.

The Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing District board approved the $15 million in subsidies, subject to several caveats.

One is a report from the developer about how it will fulfill affordable housing requirements.

The Dallas City Council must approve the deal, which probably will come before it next month, city officials said.

"I don't believe the project can go forward without the subsidy," said Robert Bisno, chairman and chief executive of Bisno.

"But it's a great project."