From Bloomberg:


Confidence Decline Points to Cooling U.S. Growth

Consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in January and a gauge of business activity fell, underscoring forecasts that the U.S. economy will cool after expanding at the fastest pace since the second quarter 2010.

The New York-based Conference Board’s confidence index decreased to 61.1, lower than the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, from a revised 64.8 reading the prior month....

Employers aren’t hiring fast enough to drive bigger gains in wages and consumer spending, while higher gasoline prices are cutting into household budgets. Another report today showed home prices fell more than forecast in November, eroding the wealth of families as they seek to rebuild savings.
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Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-31/consumer-confidence-in-u-s-unexpectedly-drops-on-fuel-costs-job-concerns.html