Income, Spending Rise, but Confidence Falls

Americans made and spent more money in December, but consumer confidence fell this month, reports showed.

December’s 0.9% gain in personal spending was the biggest in five months, led by auto sales, the Commerce Department said. The 0.4% income gain was the highest since June.

Consumer confidence dropped to a three-month low in January as Americans grew more pessimistic about the months ahead. The University of Michigan’s sentiment index fell to 82.4 from a revised 86.7 in December. The measure reached a nine-year low of 80.6 in October.