Transcripts

October Comes To A Scary But Positive End

SUSIE GHARIB: Wall Street put the wraps on a scary October, with a Halloween treat for investors. The Dow rose 144 points today but was off 14 percent in October, its biggest monthly decline in 10 years. The NASDAQ added 22 points today but lost 17 percent this month. The S&P also tumbled 17 percent in October. But the most dramatic declines came in the oil markets, as crude prices posted their biggest monthly drop since the New York Mercantile Exchange began tracking prices 25 years ago. In New York trading today December crude futures rose $1.85 to $67.81 a barrel. But since October 1, oil prices have fallen 33 percent and they are down 54 percent from July's record high of $147 a barrel. That has meant cheaper prices at the gas pump for consumers. Triple-A says the national average for regular unleaded dropped to $2.50 a gallon this week, down 39 percent from the mid-July record of $4.11. But cheaper gasoline didn't lift consumer spirits as they grappled with the fallout from the financial crisis. Consumer sentiment hit a record low this month, according to the latest survey by Reuters and the University of Michigan. The sentiment index for October plunged to 57.6, down sharply from September's reading of 70.3. Consumer sentiment is seen as a spending predictor. And Standard & Poor's chief economist David Wyss says this month's big drop doesn't bode well for retailers.

DAVID WYSS, CHIEF ECONOMIST, STANDARD & POOR'S: Unless things turn around, this is going to be an awfully bleak holiday for the retailers. I don't still think people are in the mood to spend, especially on big ticket luxury items. They'll still buy the small stuff. Kids will still get toys under the tree but don't expect those big screen TV sets to be there.

GHARIB: Wyss doesn't see relief for consumers any time soon. He expects economic growth to decline 2 percent each for the next two quarters with a bottom hopefully coming in late spring.