Month after month of non-stop battering, each time some optimistic spark deep within produces a faint glow of hope that it can’t get any worse, something new goes wrong.  This month consumer confidence was like a sky diver with a defective parachute. The reason? More bad news of increased job cuts, and decreased retirement accounts.

In fact, there was no good news of any kind for the short term. The best news, if you can call it that, was from the Fed which said that the economy is undergoing a “severe contraction” that would last for the first half of this year.

All the major retailers reported bad fourth quarter results, and home prices recorded the sharpest drop ever. Search where you will, there was no good economic news anywhere. The best news available was actually the absence of bad news – gas prices did not show any indication of going up in the near future.

In New York, the Conference Board advised that its Consumer Confidence Index which showed only a small drop in the December - January period (perhaps because of the holiday mood) experienced a sharp drop of 12 points this month to currently rest at 25, far below the projected level of 35 that experts had predicted. Nassau County foreclosure lawyers say they may be able to help stop or prevent foreclosures, or relieve financial burdens if they are called in to help early enough. It’s very important not to delay asking for help from a bankruptcy or foreclosure lawyer.

Foreclosing on a mortgage is a major step for any family and the fact that foreclosure attorneys are being consulted in this volume only substantiates the fact that many families have reached the brink with literally nowhere to turn.

Most analysts say that looking ahead, at least in the short to medium term, increasing worries about business conditions, corporate earnings and employment security are creating a vicious cycle of steadily reducing consumer spending which is exactly the opposite of what is required to kick start the economy.

Consumers are also scared by the free fall in home prices which have plunged by over 18%, the largest fall in 21 years. Today’s property prices are what they were in 2003.

While consumer confidence will naturally be affected by what has happened since last September, what is worrying is that even optimism for the future was absent until Obama took office. It surged then, but has already started to drop because illogical miracle solutions that people hoped would keep them away from bankruptcy law firms in Suffolk County and other parts of New York, did not materialize.

There may be hope for those who are able to hold on for a few more months may not see a return to prosperity, but at least a light at the end of the tunnel.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Budgets & Financial Management, Economy & Politics, Foreclosure Education, Long Island Law Firm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.