Laserfiche WebLink
March retail spending,change from February <br /> -6% -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 <br /> Gasoline stations <br /> Department stores <br /> Electronics and appliance <br /> Home improvement <br /> Motor vehicle dealers <br /> Furniture <br /> Total <br /> Grocery <br /> Restaurant and bars <br /> Online <br /> Note:Seasonally adjusted <br /> Source:Commerce Department <br /> In a speech Friday, Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said "this growth would mean <br /> that, so far, tighter monetary policy and credit conditions are not doing much to restrain <br /> aggregate demand." <br /> Mr. Waller said he was prepared to approve another interest-rate increase because recent <br /> banking-system stresses haven't produced a significant pullback in lending while high inflation <br /> remains supported by strong growth. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate last month to <br /> a range between 4.75% and 5%, extending the fastest pace of rate increases since the early <br /> 1980s. <br /> The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's gross domestic product tracker on Friday estimated <br /> a 2.5%growth rate for GDP in the first quarter, only slightly slower than late last year. S&P <br /> Global Market Intelligence on Friday estimated 1.9%growth in the first quarter, and a 0.2% <br /> contraction in the second quarter. <br /> The Commerce Department's first-quarter GDP reading is due out later this month. <br /> The retail-sales report mainly captures spending on goods rather than most services such as <br /> travel, rent and utilities, offering only a partial picture of spending. The Commerce Department <br />