
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 31, 1994                   TAG: 9408310052
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DIPS

Consumer confidence edged down in August as more Americans expressed pessimism about employment and fewer said they plan to buy big-ticket items such as cars, homes and major appliances.

The Conference Board, a private New York business research organization, said Tuesday its consumer confidence index registered 89.0 points in August, down from 91.3 in July but up from 59.3 in August 1993. In the South Atlantic region, including Virginia, the index stood at 99.0 points this month, 105.3 in July and 72.1 in August last year. The index is based on monthly interviews with 5,000 U.S. households about their view of business conditions and buying plans.

"Latest consumer confidence readings are somewhat less optimistic that a month earlier, but the present level of confidence has been associated with a reasonably strong economy during the 27-year history of the survey," said Fabian Linden, executive director of the Conference Board's consumer research center.

|- Staff report

by CNB