NEW YORK — Mounting job losses and other economic realities caught up with Americans in June, pushing down a key barometer of consumer sentiment after a streak of gains built on glimmers of hope.

Some economists say the reality check offered by yesterday's report from the New York-based Conference Board may not augur well for spending in the critical months ahead.

The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 49.3, down from its May level of 54.8.The drop coincided with mixed messages in the housing market. A report from the Treasury Department showed foreclosures rose in the first quarter compared with 2008's fourth quarter. But a key housing price index showed price declines moderating.

Job security — a key factor in shoppers' willingness and ability to spend — continued to plague consumers surveyed by the Conference Board. And the Labor Department, which reports June's job data tomorrow, is expected to show unemployment climbed.

NEW AGENCY WOULD TARGET CREDIT CARDS

WASHINGTON — President Obama asked Congress yesterday to create a new agency to police the fine print on credit card bills and mortgage documents and determine what fees, penalties and interest rates are fair.

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would be in charge of regulating credit cards, savings accounts and mortgages in the same way other agencies regulate the safety of drugs, food and toys.

Republicans and bankers, however, already are balking and gearing up for a fight. Part of the agency's mission would be to implement new restrictions on credit card companies passed by Congress during the spring. That law prohibited arbitrary rate hikes and limited access to cards by minors.

JACKSON'S FINANCIAL WORTH UNCERTAIN

NEW YORK — It's one of the biggest mysteries in the Michael Jackson saga: How much was the lavish-spending, massively debt-ridden pop icon really worth?

In the most detailed account yet of the singer's tangled financial empire, documents obtained by The Associated Press show Jackson claimed to have a net worth of $236.6 million as of March 31, 2007. But less than $700,000 of that amount was in cash — a relatively paltry sum given his opulent lifestyle, prodigious borrowing and seven-figure shopping sprees.

The dollar amounts, which previously consisted of estimates, are crucial because Jackson's estate is expected to become the focus of a legal battle between the singer's family and creditors.

Since then, however, Jackson's debts and assets have grown substantially, including debt he took on in a refinancing transaction later in 2007.