Ahead of the Tape
What If</br></br>Spending</br></br>Doesn't Slow?</br></br>Market pundits spend a lot of time worrying about what will happen to the U.S. economy if consumer spending suddenly slows. Maybe it's time to worry about what will happen if it doesn't.</br></br>Economic growth has been sluggish for much of the past year, thanks largely to the housing downturn. Consumers have kept on spending, and they have helped to keep the economy on an even keel. Economic output grew at an annual rate of just 0.6% in the first quarter. Had it not been for a 4.4% rate of increase in consumer outlays, the economy likely would have contracted.