Top Business & Political New 10/17/09

Consumer sentiment falls unexpectedly in October. U.S. consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly this month on persistent worries that the "dismal" state of personal finances would not recover quickly from the worst recession in decades, a report showed Friday. The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its preliminary index of sentiment for October fell to 69.4, from September's 73.5. That was below economists' median expectation of a steady reading of 73.5.