Business news with words accelerated+consumer+department. 5 news.

CONSUMER spending in the United States rose more than forecast in November, allaying concern that the slowest shopping season in five years may have already pushed the economy into recession. Purchases gained 1.1 percent after a 0.4 percent increase in October that was more than previously estimated, the US Commerce Department said on Friday in Washington, according to Bloomberg News. Incomes also advanced, while the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation accelerated. While the gain in November spending was the biggest in more than two years, it preceded reports by retailers that warned of a slump in purchases. A private report on Friday showed consumer confidence slid to the lowest level in more than two years in December. Economists forecast spending would rise 0.7 percent, after an originally reported 0.2 percent increase in October.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumers spent more than they earned in November, driving the personal savings rate negative for the first time in 15 months but giving a boost to a sagging economy, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Core inflation increased 0.2% for the month, less than the 0.3% expected, but the year-over-year gain accelerated to 2.2%, well above the Federal Reserve's target rate. Nominal incomes rose 0.4%. After taking out taxes and adjusting for the highest inflation since September 2005, real disposable incomes fell 0.3%. Nominal consumer spending increased 1.1%, the most in three and a half years. After adjusting for inflation of 0.6% in November, real consumer spending increased 0.5%.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The underlying rate of U.S. inflation accelerated in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The consumer price index increased 0.8%, driven by a 5.7% gain in energy prices, the fastest increase in energy prices since March. This is the biggest gain in consumer prices in more than two years. Food prices rose 0.3%, and apparel, airline and drug prices also spiked. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.3% in November, the biggest gain since January. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.7% in November after a 0.3% gain in October. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

SINGAPORE'S inflation accelerated in October to the highest since 1991, suggesting the central bank will allow the currency to strengthen further to curb consumer price gains. The consumer price index jumped 3.6 percent from a year earlier, after gaining 2.7 percent in September, the Department of Statistics said yesterday. The figure exceeded all estimates by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, where the median forecast was a 2.8 percent gain. Prices rose 1.3 percent from September. The Monetary Authority of Singapore last month said it would allow a "slightly" faster appreciation in its currency, aiming to damp decade-high inflation by making imports cheaper. The government this week said it expects consumer prices to rise next year at more than double the 2007 pace. "The risks of inflation are clearly to the upside," said Joseph Tan, Asia strategist at Fortis Bank SA in Singapore. "We can expect the Singapore dollar to get stronger, and we don't

THE US economy unexpectedly accelerated in the third quarter as increases in exports, consumer spending and business investment made up for another plunge in home construction. Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.9 percent in the quarter, the most since the first three months of 2006, against a 3.8-percent pace in the prior quarter, the Commerce Department said yesterday in Washington. The Federal Reserve's preferred price gauge rose more than forecast. Stricter lending rules in the wake of the collapse in subprime mortgages intensified the housing slump at the end of the quarter and threaten to slow consumer and business spending in coming months, economists say. The report suggests Fed policy makers, who may lower the benchmark interest rate later yesterday, might view economic risks as equally balanced between inflation and growth. "The credit crunch hit in August and the economy came into that period in pretty good shape," Stephen Stanley, chief