Deloitte: Consumer spending still down - Portland Business Journal:

http://articledirectorypro.net/090328-hongkis-yoga-cut-star-king.html
The index fell to 1.35 percen t from an downwardly revised gainof 1.44 percent in Deloitte said the index analyzese tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wagesz and real home prices to try to track consumer cash flow as an indicator of futurwe consumer spending. "The year over year pace of decline in real consumere spending appears tohave stabilized, however, recovery is beingg delayed by a sharp increase in consumer which has risen to 5.
7 percent from zero a year said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Deloitter Research and author of the monthly index, in a "However, the weakness in the inde was driven almost entirely by falling home which are down nearly 14 percenft over the past year, undermining smalp gains in real wages, a declininyg tax burden and current stabilization in new unemployment The report noted the tax burdenm continues to drop with the weakening of the It is at a levelp only seen on a few occasions over the past 50 yearz during brief periods followinhg tax rebates. Continued decline is Also notable, real wage growth continues to post small gains due to falling prices for Real wages areup 4.
3 percent from a year ago and on an annualizef basis are up 8 percent over the last nine monthws as energy prices have given a big boos t to consumer purchasing the index said.