Weekend Economists Piece for Peace April 3-5, 2015

[Demeter]

24. Consumer spending barely rises in February. Shoppers are saving instead.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2015/0330/Consumer-spending-barely-rises-in-February.-Shoppers-are-saving-instead.-video

...US consumers stayed indoors February, and in much of the country, no one would blame them. Still, a disappointing showing for the largest segment of the US economy can’t be all chalked up to weather.

Consumer spending crept up just 0.1 percent in February, slightly more disappointing than the 0.2 percent uptick analysts were expecting, according to data released Monday by the Commerce Department. It was the first positive reading in two months; January and December both recorded a 0.2 percent slide.

When adjusted for inflation, it was the first overall decline in consumer spending in nearly a year, setting up a disappointing first quarter of the year after a very strong end to 2014. The results were “indicative of a very slow rate of gain in consumer spending in the quarter as a whole even if there is a rebound in March due to February (presumably) having been affected by extremely harsh weather in many areas,” MFR Inc. economist Josh Shapiro wrote in an e-mailed analysis...