The US consumer confidence index plunged to an all-time low of 38 in October, down sharply from 61.4 in September. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated a reading of 52.

More from Bloomberg:

The dimming outlook signals consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, will deteriorate further, deepening the U.S. slump.

“The economy feels like it is contracting at a rapid pace,” Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It’s clear that consumers have really been affected by the volatility we’ve seen in the last six weeks.”

The report underscores voter discontent with the country’s direction heading into the Nov. 4 presidential election. A majority of voters think Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the Democrat, will be better able to handle the economic turmoil than Republican rival John McCain, according to polls.

The Daily Reckoning’s Bill Bonner warned yesterday how the crisis that started on Wall Street was rapidly spreading to businesses and consumers all across America.

The next stage will come when consumers go on a rampage of thrift. Credit cards will go in the trash. Malls will be silent. Sales clerks will fall asleep on the job - and then be fired. Higher unemployment. More foreclosures. More bankruptcies.

And when Americans don’t shop, it will be products Made in China that they aren’t shopping for. That’s why the depression will be worldwide - the first ever.

“China, India, Brazil and Russia (the BRICs), the biggest emerging economies, export most of their products either to each other… or to the developed economies [mainly, the USA],” continues La Prensa.

Yes, Dear Reader… our “Crash Alert” flag is still up - even though the stock market, the housing market, the financial market, and the commodities market have already crashed. But now, there’s another flag up on our mast, a black flag. On it is a white duck laying on its back with its feet up in the air.

It is our way of warning you: “Global Depression Alert” it says at the bottom.

.