Twenty-five percent or fewer have rated the buying climate positively for 35 straight weeks, the longest run on record.

TREND – Before this year the CCI's low was -50 in February 1992; in 2008, as noted, it's matched or exceeded that level eight times. The current -54 marks the third new low this year in nearly 1,200 consecutive weeks of polling.

The index has averaged -42 for the year, 31 points from last year's -11 average, the sharpest year-over-year drop on record. 2008's average is surpassed only by -44 in 1992. That compares with its long-term average of -11 and a high of +38 in January 2000.

GROUPS – The CCI has been negative across demographic groups for 23 straight weeks, but with differences, mostly influenced by income levels. It's -27AF, GM, MS, TWG, CL, AA, MJP and CH revised the draft and made critical intellectual contributions and agreed for the submission. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Authors' information {#FPar4}
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Abebaw Fekadu, MD, PhD, MRCPsych: Head, Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT-Africa) and MRC African Research Leader.

Girmay Medhin, PhD: Associate Professor and epidemiologist, Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University.

Medhin Selamu, MA: Intervention Coordinator for the PRIME project in Ethiopia and a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry, Addis Ababa University.

Tedla W Giorgis, PhD: Mental Health Advisor to the Minister, Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia.

Crick Lund, PhD: Professor and Head, Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town

Atalay Alem,