Americans remain gloomy about economy

NEW YORK The New York-based Conference Board says that its Consumer Confidence Index for July stands at 51.9, up only slightly from the revised 51.0 in June and slightly better than the reading of 50 predicted by economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. Still, the index remains half of what it was a year ago.

The Present Situation Index, which measures shoppers' current assessment of the economy, held steady at 65.3, compared to 65.4 last month.