Steve Higgins Steve Higgins has been a journalist for more than 25 years and has extensive experience covering business, the economy and personal finance. He spent 12 years as a business reporter for daily newspapers in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Connecticut, followed by 12 years as an editor, most recently as business editor of the New Haven Register in Connecticut. read more ...
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Income And Consumer Spending In The U.S. Increased Less Than Expected In January |
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Thursday, March 01, 2012 14:37
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Tags: Economic Outlook | U.S. economy The Commerce Department released disappointing data Thursday on consumer spending, the largest part of the U.S. economy.
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Purchases rose 0.2%, less than the 0.4% called for in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News.
Personal income increased 0.3%, less than the 0.5% called for in the survey.
“We’ve seen some pressures on the household sector in terms of gasoline prices,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. “It doesn’t look like things are falling apart, but things aren’t booming either.”
In a more hopeful sign, the Labor Department announced that applications for jobless benefits decreased 2,000 in the week ended Feb. 25 to 351,000, matching a four-year low.
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