WSJ: Personal Spending Up Mere 0.1%, But Inflation Pressures Are Muted

[Omaha Steve]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120670656497671569.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

By Sudeep Reddy, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan and Neal Boudette
Word Count: 1,226 | Companies Featured in This Article: J.C. Penney, General Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota Motor, Macy's, Kohl's Corp., Wal-Mart Stores, Kroger, Nordstrom

Consumer spending on clothing, autos and other goods is buckling under the weight of a weakening job market, a painful housing downturn and climbing prices for food and fuel.

The government said Friday that consumer spending in February grew just 0.1% before inflation compared with the previous month, even though incomes showed decent gains. After inflation, consumption was flat, continuing months of lethargic activity since the holiday shopping season and casting shadows on the economic outlook.

J.C. Penney Co. was the latest retailer to cut its first-quarter profit forecast. The Plano, Texas, retailer said Friday it expects comparable-store sales to ...


FULL story requires registration.

[southerncrone]

1. Just wait until June when we all spend our economic stimulus checks!

That'll FIX the economy!!!:sarcasm:

[Kittycat]

2. Early tax returns? I've noticed...

an uptick in business. Interesting thing on that though. I sell cloth diapers, and have had questions about how to CD toddlers/one year olds for the first time. Which to me indicates two things... Environmental guilt (GOOD), and people can't afford diapers anymore and are looking for solutions to cut their costs. On the diaper boards, there are endless discussions about ways to tighten the belt, seems many moms are going cloth nowadways as a way to cut back, along with making their own baby food, breastfeeding, even planting gardens for produce. If nothing else, this is forcing them in to greener ways of living I guess.

ETA: I've even read about carpooling to the grocery store while kids are in school to save on gas.