An initial look at consumer sentiment for the month of August came in below expectations. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index hit 95.3 for this month — the lowest level since September — according to a preliminary reading released Friday. Economists polled by Reuters expected the index to hit 98 in August, up from 97.1 in July. Richard Curtin, chief economist of the university's Surveys of Consumers said the weakness "reflected much less favorable assessments of buying conditions, mainly due to less favorable perceptions of market prices." Curtin noted that consumers viewed buying conditions ... (full story)