Personal Finance

Washington, D.C. -- A report issued Thursday by the Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell sharply in December to 65.1 from 75.1 in November, impacted by fears of tax increases and impending government spending cuts.

The fall in confidence is the second straight decline and the lowest level since August.

The survey showed that consumers are slightly more optimistic about current business conditions and hiring. But their outlook for the next six months deteriorated to its lowest level since 2011.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation welcomed the House vote on legislation intended to avoid middle-class tax increases in the fiscal cliff, saying progress on the issue is critically important.

New York -- In a Tuesday night address at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke didn’t shy away from discussing the fiscal cliff, saying that the current debate is having a negative impact on consumer spending.

New York -- Consumer confidence declined more than expected in December, reaching a four-month low as Americans grew concerned about the possibility of higher taxes next year. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index decreased to 74.5 this month from 82.7 in November. Economists had projected a preliminary reading of 82 for December.

Walmart moved its quarterly dividend payment up a few days so it would fall in 2012, but Costco took tax avoidance to a new level this week.

In anticipation that tax rates on dividends will rise next year as the federal government flounders for ways to raise revenue rather cut spending, a flurry of companies are paying one time dividends or adjusting payment dates. Walmart falls into the latter camp and said its 39.75 cent per share payment scheduled for January 2 would instead be paid on December 27.

Costco will pay a $7 a share special dividend before year end as it looks to return cash to shareholders in advance of what is expected to be a 2013 tax increase on dividend payments.

The total payout will amount to about $3 billion and is extraordinarily generous. Especially considering Costco’s net cash provided by operating activities for its fiscal year ended September 2, was only slightly more than $3 billion and cash, cash equivalents and short term investments totaled $4.854 billion.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence rose in November to the highest level in more than four years.

The confidence index climbed to 73.7, the highest since February 2008, from a revised 73.1 reading the prior month, indicating that U.S. household spending will keep growing.

A median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a reading of 73.

New York -- Mary L. Schapiro, the first woman to be permanent chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, announced she will step down on Dec. 14.

Schapiro was appointed head of the SEC by President Obama in 2008, one month after the Bernie Madoff scandal emerged, and she officially took office in 2009 at the peak of the financial crisis. Many experts say her four years were the toughest stretch any SEC chief has faced.