U.S. consumer confidence continued its sharp 2025 decline as Americans’ views about their financial futures slumped to a 12-year low, driven by rising anxiety over tariffs and inflation.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021.

The reading was short of analysts expectations for a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet.

The business group found that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2.

That’s the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future.

Supreme Court rejects Steve Wynn appeal

The Supreme Court has turned back an appeal from casino mogul Steve Wynn, who had challenged a landmark libel ruling as part of a lawsuit against The Associated Press.

The court declined to hear the case in a brief order without comment, as is typical. Wynn had sued over a story about reports to police of sexual misconduct allegations dating back to the 1970s.

Wynn, a billionaire developer of a luxury casino empire, including initally the Massachusetts resort know now known as encore Boston Harbor, has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations first reported in January 2018 by The Wall Street Journal.

Wynn filed his defamation lawsuit in April 2018 against the AP and one of its reporters over a story that cited police documents. His attorneys argued the story failed to fully describe elements of one allegation that would have cast doubt on the account. A judge in a civil case against the accuser later found the claim to be without merit.