The tapped-out American consumer.....

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:



Consumer Spending in U.S. Was Unchanged in August (Update1)

By Bob Willis

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Spending by U.S. consumers was unchanged in August, confounding forecasts of a gain, as households retrenched in the face of rising unemployment and slumping confidence.

No change followed a 0.1 percent rise in July that was smaller than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation rose over the last 12 months by the most in 13 years.

Consumer spending is faltering as the boost from tax rebates fades and Americans grapple with mounting job losses, declining home-equity wealth and a credit squeeze that in recent weeks has turned into a financial meltdown. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg early this month forecast spending this quarter will be the weakest since 1991.

``There're not a whole lot of positives out there,'' Daniel North, chief economist at Euler Hermes ACI in Owings Mills, Maryland, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Even ``without all this bailout talk,'' the economy seems ``pretty weak.''

Economists forecast spending would rise 0.2 percent, after an originally reported 0.2 percent increase in July, according to the median of 64 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections ranged from gains of 0.5 percent to a drop of 0.2 percent.

Incomes increased 0.5 percent after a 0.6 percent drop the prior month, today's report showed. The median forecast was a gain of 0.2 percent.

The report also showed inflation is eroding Americans' purchasing power. The price gauge tied to spending patterns climbed 4.5 percent from August 2007, after a 4.6 percent gain in the year ended in July. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=abAhOnxICKAA&refer=home

[OhioChick]

1. I'm surprised it was unchanged in August

Given the fact that parents usually have to purchase back to school items.

[Solly Mack]

2. I'll run right out and do my part to undo that confounding...let's go shopping!

Damn..can't. Ain't got no money.

[marmar]

3. Well run out and carry empty shopping bags and keep up the appearance of prosperity anyway.....

..... Just like our economy for the last 30 years.

[Solly Mack]

4. Now there's a twist...fake it until you break it

Perhaps I can sell the empty bags as a big bag of hope?

[Uben]

5. I have not yet begun to buy!

Christmas, that is. But it is time to start. I have limited my spending this year to less than a million dollars. I think that is a good idea for everyone!