ECONOMY

Consumer Confidence Sagging: The Money/ABC News Consumer Comfort Index asked 1,046 people how they felt about the U.S. economy, their own finances and their willingness to spend money. The overall index at the end of May was minus 39, just 11 points above the record low of February, 1992. (The record high, plus 8, occurred in May, 1986.) The national economy inspired the most pessimism, as 86% of the respondents gave it a low rating. That index fell 2 points to minus 72. And 70% of the respondents said this is not a good time to spend. The “buying climate” index fell to minus 40.