Consumer confidence is lower than expected as Wall Street braces for shutdown data blackout

Consumer confidence edged lower in September ahead of an expected data blackout caused by the looming federal government shutdown, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.The board's headline confidence index registered a 94.2 reading, off 3.6 points from the August reading and below the Dow Jones estimate for 96.0. The reading was the lowest since April and comes with nonessential government operations slated to close at midnight.In addition to the weakness on the main reading, the "present situation" index ...