Consumer Spending

According to MasterCard, January retail sales, excluding the automotive sector, was up 8.8% over last January.  Spending in restaurants was very strong; up 24.2% over last January.  Robust U.S. consumer spending is also noticeable across entities.  Bank of America has said that credit and debit card spending is up 5.1% year over year in January, and they are on record as viewing this one more sign that there is “a strengthening in consumer spending”.  The trend of good news continues.