US consumer spending in April weakest in 3 months
Source: AP-Excite
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer spending in April posted the weakest performance in three months, but a solid gain in income growth should help boost spending in the future.
Consumer spending was flat in April after a revised 0.5 percent increase in March, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The March advance had been the biggest gain since last August. Personal income rose a healthy 0.4 percent after being unchanged in March.
The flat reading for consumer spending in April had been expected given weakness previously reported in retail sales and auto sales for the month. Economists, however, forecast that spending will rebound in coming months. Strong gains in employment should translate into more confident consumers who are willing to spend more.
Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
FULL story at link.
FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 file photo, a shopper pays for his produce at a farmers market in downtown Los Angeles. The Commerce Department releases its April report on consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, on Monday, June 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150601/us--consumer_spending-d2ed17d791.html
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It's not a popular notion, but except for spending on local goods and services, like food and US made goods and trades and crafts services, like painting or home repair, most of our money goes to China or Indonesia or elsewhere.
Everything that isn't made here comes on container ships burning fuel oil, diesel.
Our current economic system relies not only on sustained economic activity, but on endless growth of that activity.
And we humans drive that, spending what could be savings or investments while those at the top profit, and others diddle around with hedge fund making billions.
We need to stop it, we need to consume less stuff and try our hardest to limit what we buy to domestic goods.
