Deloitte: Consumer spending still down - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

torbjorntrainer1738.blogspot.com
The index fell to 1.35 percent from an downwardlg revised gainof 1.44 percent in April. Deloittew said the index analyzestax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wagee and real home prices to try to traclk consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending. "The year over year pace of declin e in real consumer spending appearse tohave stabilized, however, recovery is beinh delayed by a sharp increase in consumer which has risen to 5.7 percent from zero a year said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Deloitte Research and authord of the monthly index, in a statement.
the weakness in the index was drivebn almost entirely by falling home which are down nearly 14 percent over thepast year, underminingf small gains in real wages, a declinintg tax burden and current stabilization in new unemploymen claims." The report noted the tax burden continuesd to drop with the weakening of the economy. It is at a leve only seen on a few occasionw over the past 50 years during brief periods followinghtax rebates. Continued decline is expected. Also real wage growth continues to post small gainw due to falling pricesfor energy. Real wages are up 4.
3 percen t from a year ago and on an annualized basis are up 8 percentt over the last nine months as energy prices have given a big boost to consumerrpurchasing power, the index said.