New Report Shows Decline in Consumer Sentiment

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) -- A measure of U.S. consumer confidence slipped this month from a six-year high in July, as Americans expressed less optimism about the coming months.

The University of Michigan says that its final reading of consumer sentiment dropped to 82.1 in August from 85.1 in the previous month. Americans said they were less confident that the job market will improve but more confident that their income will rise.

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Still, even with the decline, the index is nearly 8 points higher than a year ago.

So, hey, at least there’s that.

A separate report Friday showed that consumer spending barely increased in July as income growth slowed.

And because consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of economic activity, the slowdown could signal sluggish economic growth for the rest of the third quarter.

U.S. stocks took a beating Friday on the less-than-cheery economic reports and continued fears over a possible conflict with Syria: