Business: The Nonbuying Mood

A rise in consumer spending is essential to the Nixon Administration's plan for an economic upturn later this year. But hope for that rise dwindled last week with the findings of a University of Michigan quarterly survey of 1.300 families, which showed consumers less inclined to buy than at any time in the 18-year history of the survey. During April and May, for example, the proportion of families intending to purchase new cars was 20% below the same period a year ago. Based on consumers' personal financial expectations and buying plans, the survey's index has been dropping steadily since President Nixon's...

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