U.S. consumer confidence fell for the first time in five months as mounting unemployment an depressed wages shook households. The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment decreased to 66 in July, from 70.8 in June. The confidence index fell as consumers are worried about their jobs and the overall health of the economy.
The California state Senate passed a $26 billion budget deficit plan, which eliminates nearly 60% of the deficit with spending cuts to core state services such as education, state parks and prisons. Closing the shortfall is expected to allow the state to obtain short-term loans, eventually ending the need for the state-issued IOUs, states Judy Lin of the Associated Press.
Overall, all three U.S. indexes are down in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.6%, the S&P 500 gave back 1% and the Nasdaq is down 1.6%.
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Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.