Consumer confidence eased in the first half of March as lower-income Americans grew more concerned about prospects for the U.S. economy and higher gasoline prices. The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index fell to a five-month low of 90 from to 91.7 in February. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 92.2. The group’s measures of year-ahead and longer-term inflation expectations picked up. All of the decline in confidence was among households at the bottom end of the income scale as prices at the gas pump marched higher. At the same time, the report showed robust labor ... (full story)