Yesterday the stock market was happy; they said it was because of high expectations Grand Magus Greenspan would deliver something wonderful on Tuesday.

Now it's Tuesday, and the stock market is moody; they say it's because the darned consumers lack confidence.

(Warning: Wonderfully obfuscatory sentences contained below. :)

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Consumer confidence falls to lowest point since 1996

NEW YORK (February 27, 2001 10:19 a.m. EST ) - American's increased pessimism about jobs and the economy sent consumer confidence falling in February to its lowest point in more than four years.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 106.8, down from 115.7 in January. It marked the fifth consecutive drop in the monthly index, which fell to its lowest point since June 1996.

"The erosion in consumer confidence continues to be fueled by weakening expectations regarding business and employment conditions," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.

But the economy continues to walk a tightrope, avoiding a plunge into recession, Franco added.

"While the short-term outlook continues to signal a severe economic downturn, consumers' appraisal of current economic conditions suggests we are still undergoing moderate economic growth and not a recession," she said.

Two other reports released Tuesday also indicated weakness in the economy.

The Commerce Department reported that orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in January to their lowest level in 19 months. The department also said new-homes sales plummeted by 10.9 percent in January, the biggest drop in seven years.

The markets were lower following the release of the reports, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 22 points to 10,619 and the Nasdaq composite index off 22 points to 2,285.

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