Consumer confidence: Biggest Monthly Drop in 15 Years
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Consumer Consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in two years after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent rise in petrol prices.

The Conference Board, the business research group, said on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index had fallen to 86.6 this month from 105.5 in August, in a survey carried out this month.

It was the biggest monthly drop in 15 years, considerably greater than the Wall Street consensus forecast of about 95. Although responents in the survey judged current conditions in the economy as relatively stable, there was a plunge in expectations for business conditions and employment six months from now.