European consumer confidence dropped for a fourth month in October to the lowest in more than two years, adding to signs of a deepening economic slowdown. An index of household sentiment in the 17-nation euro area fell to minus 19.9 from minus 19.1 in September, the Brussels- based European Commission said in an initial estimate today. That’s the lowest since August 2009. Economists forecast a drop to minus 20, the median of 29 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. European households are growing more pessimistic as the region’s debt crisis threatens to hurt economic growth and job creation. In Germany, ... (full story)