Economy

Consumer confidence declined sharply in June after three straight months of improvement as worries heightened over the slowly recovering economy and sluggish job market.

The index fell to 52.9 this month from a revised 62.7 in May, a drop that was greater than expected by analysts, according to the Conference Board’s index. 

Despite signs of an expanding economy, consumer confidence isn't likely to improve until job growth picks up. The June employment report is due out Friday, and is likely to show a decrease in job growth as the federal government winds down temporary hiring for the Census.

Private sector hiring needs to show improvement to begin making a dent in the more than 8 million jobs lost during the protracted recession. 

Senate Small Business Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-La.) on Tuesday told The Hill she supports temporarily moving off her small-business bill to extend unemployment insurance. 

"Table is a strong word, but pausing to get that other work done — we've got to do a lot of different things at one time around here," she said. 

Landrieu also blasted Republican opposition to the extension. 

Not a single Republican senator so far has supported the three proposals offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to extend unemployment benefits that expired earlier this month. 

"How that party can stand year after year supporting unpaid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they won't support emergencies here at home is really beyond my comprehension," she said, adding, "It [extending unemployment] is an emergency. If 15 million people out of work is not an emergency, I don't know what is." 

The House is slated to vote later Tuesday on another extension to unemployment. The vote will allow the benefits to continue through November. However, the package excludes the $25 pay bump created by the stimulus bill and it is not offset. 

House leaders hope the stand-alone bill will find sufficient support in the Senate and pass from that chamber before the July 4 recess.  

The last three attempts have failed to pass the Senate largely because Republicans there have refused an extension that is not paid for, and therefore adds to the deficit.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) last week signaled that she would support an extension that is not paid for. But Senate Democratic leaders will still need at least two additional Republicans to vote for the measure if Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) continues to oppose the bill because its cost is not offset. 

A Republican staffers thinks Reid will have a hard time winning over two Republicans beyond Snowe to support the bill. 

The House will vote again on Tuesday to extend unemployment benefits.

Two House lawmakers are pushing forward this week to pass a standalone extension of unemployment insurance as more than 1.2 million stand to lose their benefits within a couple of days.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, have teamed up to introduce a measure they aim to pass before the July 4 recess.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the bill could hit the floor Tuesday or Wednesday. He didn't provide any bill details although they are expected soon. 

A tax extenders bill that included a six-month extension of unemployment benefits has stalled out in the Senate because of Republican concerns over adding to the debt and issues over tax provisions in the bill.

At least two senators — Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) — have introduced standalone versions of the measure as benefits gradually begin running out for millions of Americans. It's unknown whether the Senate would consider the measures or take up the House bill, which could allow enough time to complete the work before the weekend.

Under the extension, unemployed workers can receive up to 99 weeks of benefits based on the state's unemployment rate. Every state is affected if Congress can't resolve the issue before recess begins. If a measure isn't passed, lawmakers wouldn't take it up again until at least July 12, when they return from the weeklong break.

This story was updated at 11:45 a.m. 

Airlines collected $769 million in baggage fees in the first three months of the year, a 33 percent increase over the same period in 2009. 

The six network carriers, including American, Delta and United, posted a combined operating loss of $163 million, a vast improvement over the $867 million reported in the first quarter of 2009. 

Low-cost and regional airline groups reported operating profits during the first quarter.

Delta led the way in baggage fees, charging $217.8 million, a nearly 112 percent increase over the first quarter of 2009, the Transportation Department reported Monday. American ranked second at $128.5 million, a 19 percent increase, and Allegiant was the lowest at $13.9 million, an 11.2 percent jump. 

Sen. Olympia Snowe on Friday urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to move a stand-alone extension of unemployment benefits.

The cost includes efforts to contain the spill, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid to those hurt by the spill and federal costs.

Consumer confidence soared to its highest level in June since January 2008, according to a private report released Friday. 

Confidence rose more than expected, to 76, up from 73.6 in May, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index reported.

Despite a tough economic month of May — a period that witnessed a European debt crisis, roller coaster stock market, sluggish housing market and high unemployment — consumers seemed relatively unaffected. 

Economic growth in the first quarter was revised slightly downward by the Commerce Department on Friday, based on a recalculation of consumer spending, which wasn't as high as originally thought. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

Gross domestic product was revised downward to 2.7 percent from 3 percent in the first quarter. 

The Michigan gauge for determining if consumers want to make big-ticket purchases was up to 85.6 in June, up from 81 in May, another high since January 2008.

Long-run expectations shaped up higher as well, with an increase to 69.8 in June from 68.8 last month. 

The economy grew more slowly in the first quarter, behind consumer spending levels that weren't as strong as initially reported, while imports increased. 

Gross domestic product, a measure of the nation's economic health, rose by 2.7 percent in the first three months of the year, slightly less than the 3 percent reported last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. 

That figure is much lower than the 5.6 percent pace in the fourth quarter of 2009. 

The good news is the economy has expanded for three straight quarters after a severe recession that saw the economy shrink for four quarters in a row, the worst stretch since World War II. 

Economists estimate that 3 percent growth is needed and at least 5 percent is optimal to create the jobs needed to lower the unemployment rate. Growth has averaged 3.5 percent over the past three quarters. 

Still, there is trepidation for future growth potential because of the European debt crisis that is likely to affect world trade and concerns about a contraction of business spending once companies build back their inventories. 

Mortgage rates dropped to a record low 4.69 percent in the week ending Thursday, which could provide a boost to the sluggish housing market. 

Following the April 30 expiration of a tax incentive to purchase a home, mortgage rates declined for 30-year fixed loans from 4.75 percent, according to a release from mortgage company Freddie Mac. 

The previous record — set during the week of Dec. 3 — was 4.71 percent. 

The tax credit — up to $8,000 for some buyers — appeared to spur more than 2 million additional sales, according to Treasury Department estimates. 

But new homes sales dropped precipitously in May — down 33 percent to an annual pace of 300,000, the lowest level on record and the worst monthly showing since 1963.