Like the stock market, the Confidence Meter numbers tumbled this month, reaching lows not seen since last December. Our respondents' confidence in the chance for a recovery in the overall economy in the next three months fell eight tenths of a point, from 6.2 to 5.4 on a scale of 1 to 10, while the scores for their industry categories and their own companies fell to 5.4 and 6.1, respectively. Hit hardest were the energy/utilities and media/advertising sectors: Respondents in those sectors were the least confident about the prospects for a recovery in their own industries. The most confident: food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals.
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