Reports show U.S. consumption declines unexpectedly

Global Business

On Friday, a pair of readings shows the U-S consumer is not in good spirits. Spending was down a tenth of a percent last month. And consumer sentiment fell more than expected. The consumer is the driving force of the U-S economy — representing about two-thirds of the economy.

Those reports come a day after people learned the U-S economy failed to grow last quarter. In fact, it shrank a full 1%. Initial estimates said the economy just squeezed out a gain.

This means that next week’s jobs data will likely grab even more attention than usual. Economists polled by Bloomberg say that the U-S probably added more than 200-thousand new jobs last month.

But the unemployment rate likely nudged up to 6.4%. It stood at 6.3% in April — the lowest since 2008.

Also on tap next week will be readings on the U-S Service Sector, manufacturing. And the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book on the state of the U-S economy.

For more on the state of the U.S economy, CCTV’s Phillip Yin is joined by Peter Morici, Professor of International Business at the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Reports Show U.S. Consumption Declines Unexpectedly

On Friday, a pair of readings shows the U-S consumer is not in good spirits. Spending was down a tenth of a percent last month. And consumer sentiment fell more than expected. The consumer is the driving force of the U-S economy -- representing about two-thirds of the economy. For more on the state of the U.S economy, CCTV’s Phillip Yin is joined by Peter Morici, Professor of International Business at the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.