Check out the consumer confidence. Yep, didn’t think you could find it.

According to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in 26 years.

Twenty-six years ago, Ronald Reagan was president, the Berlin Wall was still standing, Olivia Newton-John topped the music charts with the single “Physical” (video here) and rich oilmen topped the TV ratings on “Dallas.”

And memories of the 1970s “stagflation” — a period of low growth and high inflation — were still fresh in consumers’ minds, dragging down confidence.
 
Today the growth is low — some experts think the U.S. economy is already in recession — and consumers are being battered by rising food and fuel prices.

Still, inflation is nowhere near the double-digit levels seen in the 1970s. But the Reuters/University of Michigan report showed one-year inflation expectations jumped to 4.8 percent — the report’s highest reading since October 1990.

As for other comparisons with 1982? The U.S. president is now the son of Reagan’s vice president, the Berlin Wall came down long ago and Olivia Newton-John’s physical activity is walking along the Great Wall of China to raise money for cancer research.

As for rich oilmen? Well, oil is trading at about $110 a barrel. Maybe that’s why there has been an attempt to make a “Dallas” movie.

Also in the basket:
 
For Fortune Brands CEO, loss is win (WSJ, subscription required)
 
Russia retailer X5 to buy Karusel for up to $970 mln
 
Linens ‘n Things seen nearing bankruptcy (WSJ, subscription required) (NYPost)

 (Photos: Reuters, Warner Bros.)