Sandego.net – American consumers are entering the final stretch before the midterm elections with an increasingly grim view of the economy. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index slipped to 46.3 in October, down from 48.1 in September, placing the measure near the bottom of its 74-year history.

If the preliminary figure is confirmed, it would become the second-lowest reading ever recorded. Only May posted a weaker result, and five of the index’s lowest readings have occurred this year. The result suggests that many households feel more pessimistic today than during periods often associated with major economic and national disruption, including the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil shock, the aftermath of September 11, the Great Recession, the Covid-19 pandemic and the later inflation surge.…