The glass appears half-empty indeed

Consumer confidence, or consumers' overall assessment of current conditions has dropped.

"Less favorable business conditions coupled with a less favorable job scenario have resulted in the largest one-month decline in confidence since Hurricane Katrina last year," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.
"Consumers are growing increasingly pessimistic about the short-term outlook."

Consumer confidence sinks to 9-month low