American consumers are feeling less confident in December, a business research group says.
The Conference Board said Monday that its consumer confidence index fell back in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Analysts forecast a rise to a reading of 113.8. Consumers had been feeling increasingly confident in recent months, spending more in the run-up to the all-important holiday shopping season.
The consumer confidence index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.
The measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market tumbled more than a dozen points to 81.1. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.
The proportion of consumers expecting a recession over the next 12 months remained stable.
The board reported Monday that consumers’ view of current conditions ticked down just more than a point to a reading of 140.2.
Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, contributing to a 0.7% rise in retail sales in November.
Another report showed that consumers increased their spending by a solid 0.4% from October to November, a sign that households continue to propel the economy. The U.S. economy grew at a healthy 3.1% annual rate last quarter, largely thanks to consumer demand.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity and is closely watched by economists for signs how the American consumer is feeling.
FILE - Shoppers manage their bags as they enter a subway turnstile, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty on Monday to state murder and terror charges while his attorney complained that statements coming from New York's mayor would make it tough to receive a fair trial.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan district attorney formally charged him last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution.
His initial appearance in New York's state trial court was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
One of Mangione’s attorneys told a judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have turned Mangione into a political pawn, robbing him of his rights as a defendant and tainting the jury pool.
“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo.
The city's mayor and top police official stood among a throng of heavily armed officers last Thursday when Mangione was flown to a Manhattan heliport and slowly escorted up a pier after being extradited from Pennsylvania.
“I wanted to look him in the eye and say you carried out this terroristic act in my city — the city that the people of New York love,” the mayor told a local TV station.
Friedman Agnifilo has accused federal and state prosecutors of advancing conflicting legal theories, calling their approach confusing and highly unusual. “He is being treated like a human pingpong ball between warring jurisdictions here,” she said Monday.
State trial court Judge Gregory Carro responded that he has little control over what happens outside the courtroom, but said he can guarantee that Mangione will receive a fair trial.
Authorities say Mangione gunned down Brian Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec 4.
Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a five-day search, carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID, police said. He also was carrying a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives, according to federal prosecutors.
At a news conference announcing the state charges last week, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism law reflected the severity of a “frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”
“In its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror,” he added.
Mangione is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.
Outside the courthouse where Mangione appeared Monday, a few dozen supporters chanted, “Free Luigi,” over the blare of a trumpet.
Natalie Monarrez, a 55-year-old Staten Island resident, said she joined the demonstration because she lost both her mother and her life savings as a result of denied insurance claims.
“As extreme as it was, it jolted the conversation that we need to deal with this issue,” she said of the shooting. “Enough is enough, people are fed up.”
An Ivy-league graduate from a prominent Maryland family, Mangione appeared to have cut himself off from family and friends in recent months. He posted frequently in online forums about his struggles with back pain. He was never a UnitedHealthcare client, according to the insurer.
Thompson, a married father of two high-schoolers, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm in 2021.
The killing has prompted some to voice their resentment at U.S. health insurers, with Mangione serving as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills. It also has sent shockwaves through the corporate world, rattling executives who say they have received a spike in threats.
Luigie Mangione is escorted into Manhattan Criminal court for his arraignment on state murder and terror charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A demonstrator holds up a sign while waiting for the arrival of Luigi Mangione for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Luigie Mangione, center, is escorted into Manhattan Criminal court for his arraignment on state murder and terror charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Luigie Mangione is escorted into Manhattan Criminal court for his arraignment on state murder and terror charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, right, attorney for Luigi Mangione, arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Luigi Mangione, charged with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is escorted by police in New York, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
