Article, CNN.com, February 25
http://money.cnn.com Consumer spending is a leading economic indicator, because experts say that it fuels about two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Consumer spending is tied heavily to income, because people tend to fall into predictable saving patterns.
Both consumer spending and income throughout the month of January failed to impress economic analysts. Spending was flat overall, and income fell by over 2%. Experts claim that Microsoft was a factor in this loss. They paid out large dividends in the month of December, which gave an irregular boost to many incomes. Forecasters predicted a decline in incomes due to this irregularity.
