U.S. Consumer Sentiment Cools on Buying Conditions for Durables

U.S. consumer confidence in October was slightly weaker than forecast on dimmer views of personal finances and buying conditions for major items, a University of Michigan report showed Friday.

Even with the decline, confidence remained near a 14-year high just before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. But data from the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index show that the sentiment of independent voters is aligning more closely with Democrats, which may signal that Republicans are poised to lose ground in the Nov. 6 vote.