EconomicCrisis.US

U.S. consumers boosted spending only modestly last month and a gauge of Midwestern business activity fell sharply in April, suggesting the economy entered the second quarter with less steam.

The Commerce Department said on Monday consumer spending rose 0.3 percent last month, just below the median forecast in a Reuters poll.

When taking into account inflation, which has been fed in recent months by higher gasoline prices, spending barely rose, advancing just 0.1 percent.

“The spending number is an indication that the higher gas prices we saw last month are taking their toll,” said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal at the Black Bay Group in New York.
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The dollar fell against most other major currencies Tuesday after U.S. consumer confidence slipped in April and home prices fell in February. Traders also bought the euro following strong demand at an auction for Spanish government debt.

The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index was at 69.2 in April, down from 69.5 in March. Economists were expecting an increase to 70.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index shows that home prices fell in February from January in 16 of the 20 cities it tracks. A sign that the housing market is still struggling to recover.
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Output at U.S. factories slipped in March and builders started construction on fewer homes, offering cautionary signals for an economy that appeared to be gaining traction.

Manufacturing output slipped for the first time in four months, dropping 0.2 percent, the U.S. Federal Reserve said on Tuesday.

The decline dragged on overall industrial production which was unchanged and fell short of analysts’ expectations.

“It looks pretty bad on the face of it,” said Tom Porcelli, an economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.
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It hasn’t been long since Caterpillar Inc looked like the typical resident of the Rust Belt. Having misjudged how deep the U.S. economy would decline, the world’s largest maker of construction machinery reduced its workforce by 33,000 people worldwide in 2009, closed plants and posted lower profits.

But the Peoria, Illinois-based company has mounted a quick recovery and is emerging as the poster child for America’s manufacturing renaissance.

In 24 months, 15 Caterpillar facilities have been built or updated in the United States, tens of thousands of workers have been added to the payroll and $2 billion is committed for capital investments on its home soil this year.
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