Market Turmoil Makes Some Big Spenders Pause a Bit --- World-Wide Unrest Creates Doubts, Causing Delays in Pricey Consumer Purchases

Some big-spending consumers, feeling queasy from the stock market's recent gyrations, are deep-sixing some of their purchase plans. In Washington, D.C., Sherry Davis, a sales associate with W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, is beginning to get a little concerned about her commissions. Last Frida...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal. Eastern edition
Main Author By Christina Duff and Carl Quintanilla
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y Dow Jones & Company Inc 02.09.1998
EditionEastern edition
Subjects
Confidence
Consumer behavior
Consumer spending
Consumers
Dow Jones averages
Securities markets
Stock prices
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Some big-spending consumers, feeling queasy from the stock market's recent gyrations, are deep-sixing some of their purchase plans. In Washington, D.C., Sherry Davis, a sales associate with W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, is beginning to get a little concerned about her commissions. Last Friday, after the market's first round of declines, a partner from a big accounting firm backed out of his contract to buy a house for nearly $900,000. "He felt a little less wealthy than he did at the beginning of the week," she said, sighing. Ms. Davis is hoping consumers will decide, in light of the stock market's behavior, that real estate is a safer investment than stocks -- particularly since she'll have two homes worth more than $2.5 million each to sell after Labor Day. Still, she said, "I get a general feeling people just aren't as confident about making really big purchases."
ISSN:0099-9660