For all of 2011, consumer spending increased 2.2 percent, compared with 2 percent in 2010.
Consumer spending increased marginally, according to the Fed, even though most of that was attributed to a pickup in the auto sector, as supply chain disruptions stemming from Japan eased.
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The Commerce Department report showed that consumer retail spending increased 0.4% in March, just under the 0.5% rise that was predicted following a surprise 1.1% gain in February.
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The continuing increases in employment, together with some pickup in real wages, have helped sustain consumer spending, which increased at a brisk pace during the second half of last year and has continued to be well maintained so far this year.
Can it be long before businesses large and small begin to reap the benefits of increased consumer spending?
More importantly, in the last seven recoveries, increased consumer spending accounted for 56% of the increases in GDP.
The tax reductions, say economists, indicate the government's efforts to drive growth by boosting domestic demand and could result in increased consumer spending.
Typically, this early in any type of economic recovery it would be good to see this number rising as it can lead to increased consumer spending.
We believe that the increased consumer spending during the holiday season discussed above can result in an upside to our current forecasts for revenue per square foot for Gap and Old Navy stores.
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The rebates increased consumer spending on nondurable items by about 2.9% in the third quarter of 2001 and 2.1% in the fourth quarter, a significant boost that coincided with the economy's recovery, the authors said.
The Fed noted in its statement that the U.S. job market has improved, consumer spending and business investment have increased and the housing market has strengthened.
The Brazil fund is more weighted towards the Brazilian retail sector and benefits from increased Brazilian consumer spending on the back of a stronger currency and pricier Brazilian commodity exports.
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But, despite the slowdown, the statement also said that job hiring continued to expand at a modest rate, consumer spending and business investment had increased , and the housing sector showed signs of improvement.
Consider that while spending on all other consumer goods and services has increased 8x over the last 40 years, healthcare spending has increased 274x.
The boom went bust in 2008, and banks incurred huge debts from bad real estate loans while the economy slowed, the jobless rate increased, and consumer spending stalled.
Core sales, which strip out cars, petrol, and building materials and correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, increased by 0.5%.
Traditionally, during recessionary periods, the Fed lowers rates, which encourages consumer borrowing and the increased levels of spending help drive the economy to stronger growth levels.
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Mr Wood argues that China is doing more to boost domestic consumption (for example, through incentives to stimulate purchases of cars and consumer durables, and increased health-care spending) than America is doing to boost its saving.
"Consumer electronics continues to be a bright spot as spending increased despite a tough year for the overall economy, " said Brian Markwalter, CEA's vice president of research and standards.
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Third quarter earnings reports will certainly help to provide more evidence of the mounting strength, or increased weakness, of corporate revenues and consumer spending.
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Analysts said that given the strong domestic demand and increased government spending, a rise in consumer prices remained a concern and may prompt the central bank to keep rates on hold in the short term.
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Many investors have been hoping that increased spending by businesses would take the place of flagging consumer outlays.
Despite increased taxes due to the budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate in January, consumer spending on American Express cards remained strong.
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