Consumer confidence low, but rising

U.S. consumer confidence showed pessimism deeply ingrained at the start of October, a private research group said. But the pessimism was not quite as entrenched as it was in September, as the IBD/TIPP Economic Index rose 0.4 points or 1 percent to 40.3 in October, Investor's Business Daily said in a release. The IBD/TIPP index, created in collaboration with the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, rose from September's 39.9 reading but remained far below the breakeven point. Above 50 indicates optimism; below 50 indicates pessimism. The index is based on 900 interviews conducted in the first week of each month. For October, the six-month outlook index fell 0.2 points or 0.5 percent to 36.7. The personal financial outlook index rose by 0.3 points or 0.6 percent to 51.9. The federal economic policy confidence index, while a far cry from the breakeven point, rose by 0.9 points, 2.9 percent, to 32.2. "Consumer confidence is still in a vulnerable territory, despite its modest improvement in October," Raghavan Mayur, president of TIPP, said in a statement.