Consumer confidence ebbed. Energy woes grew. The R-word has come off the nation's editorial pages and onto its front pages. There have been job cuts nationwide. U.S. companies announced plans in January to savage more than 142,000 jobs, the worst one-month drubbing in eight years.
Stocks remain volatile.
A good day is when the indexes just move sideways. And there have been some days that were anything but good. Consumer confidence has waned across the country. It was at its lowest level in four years when last the Conference Board reported. That's not what Record business reporters found when they fanned out to take the economic pulse in the county.