With crude oil near $50 a barrel, consumer confidence could be in for a big hit. James E. Glassman, senior United States economist at J. P. Morgan, thinks otherwise. "My gasoline station manager didn't know that the price of oil was near $50 a barrel," Mr. Glassman said. "He just knows what the oil company charges him for gasoline when the delivery truck pulls up each night." That price has been dropping. The national average price of a gallon of midgrade gasoline reached $2.155 in May. It has since dropped to $1.97, according to the Department of Energy. Consumer confidence...