March Consumer Spending Grows 0.6%, Personal Income Up 0.5%

March Consumer Spending Grows 0.6%, Personal Income Up 0.5%



Apr 29, 2011

March consumer spending was better than many had feared, showing a 0.6% rise in current dollar terms according to the Commerce Department, slightly higher than the 0.5% increase economists' had expected.

When adjusted for inflation, spending increased 0.2% in the month after rising 0.5% in January.

Consumer spending in both January and February was revised higher, with February spending getting bumped to 0.9% from 0.7%, and January spending to 0.5% from an initially estimated 0.3% increase.

It was feared higher energy prices could more severely slow consumers' spending. The personal consumption index (PCE) rose 0.4% in March after an increase of the same amount in February. Year-over-year the PCE is up 1.8%.

Core PCE, which excludes food and fuel, was up only 0.1% in March, after rising 0.2% in February, and is up 0.9% year-over-year.

Personal income for the month rose 0.5% in March, beating the expectation for a 0.3% gain.

BP employee loses laptop with personal data of claimants

BP employee loses laptop with personal data of claimants



According to a BP (BP) spokesperson, an employee lost a laptop containing personal data belonging to thousands of Louisiana residents who filed claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill. The laptop contained data of about 13,000 people, who were notified about the potential data security breach.