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    October 28, 2011

US Consumer Spending Increases

   VOA News
   Shoppers unload their shopping cart at a Pembroke Pines, Fla., Costco
   store, September 29, 2011 (file photo).
   Photo: AP
   Shoppers unload their shopping cart at a Pembroke Pines, Fla., Costco
   store, September 29, 2011 (file photo).

   Consumer spending increased slightly in the United States last month,
   along with confidence in the economy.
   A government Commerce Department report says spending increased by
   six-tenths of a percent in September, even though incomes increased
   less than projected.
   Consumer spending drives much of the economic activity in the United
   States, and Friday's figures followed a report Thursday that said the
   U.S. economy was growing at a 2.5 percent annual rate.
   The spending and growth figures were supported by a private report
   showing that consumer confidence in the economy was slightly higher in
   September, increasing hope that the U.S. economy can avoid another
   recession and continue a slow recovery.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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