Business news with words consumer+recession. 60 or more news.

HONG Kong's exports grew at the slowest pace in 14 months in November on weak demand in the United States, where a housing recession threatens to stall economic growth. Shipments rose 6.6 percent from a year earlier to HK$244 billion (US$31 billion) after gaining 9.8 percent in October, the statistics department said yesterday. The deepest housing slump in 16 years may undermine US consumer spending. The US economy will expand at a one percent annual pace in the fourth quarter after growing at a 4.9 percent rate from July through September, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg News.

Crude oil resumed its upward march toward $100 a barrel - raising new alarms that surging gas pump prices could slow consumer spending to recession levels in 2008. Crude jumped 2 percent here after analysts predicted that government data today...

ASIAN stocks rose for a second day, led by electronics makers, after consumer spending increased more than forecast in the United States, the region's biggest export market. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, maker of iPods for Apple Inc, and Samsung Electronics Co climbed to the highest in more than a week. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced the most in three weeks last Friday after the report on November spending eased concern about recession in the world's biggest economy. "US shares showed firm gains, and we're seeing the influence in shares today (yesterday)," said Kim Jae Dong, who oversees the equivalent of US$8.6 billion at Korea Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul. BHP Billiton Ltd led an increase among miners after metals prices climbed, and a UK regulator set a deadline for a formal takeover bid for Rio Tinto Group. The MSCI Asia Pacific, excluding Japan Index, rose two percent to 524.1 as of 3:38pm in Hong Kong, with all 10 industry groups climbing.

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 - The housing market is tanking, the credit markets are in crisis and economists fear a recession could be on the way - but in November at least, that wasn't enough to slow down the American consumer.

The housing market is tanking, the credit markets are in crisis, and economists fear a recession could be on the way - but in November at least, that wasn't enough to slow down the American consumer. Personal spending rose 1.1 percent last month, the biggest...

The Dow rises 205 points on consumer spending news. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq also see big gains. Stock prices jumped Friday, posting their sharpest gain in three weeks, after the biggest increase in consumer spending in two years helped reduce concern about a possible recession. The Dow Jones industrials rose more than 200 points.

The housing market is tanking, the credit markets are in crisis, and economists fear a recession could be on the way -- but in November at least, that wasn't enough to slow down the American consumer.

The housing market is tanking, the credit markets are in crisis, and economists fear that a recession could be on the way -- but in November at least, that wasn't enough to slow down the American consumer.

The housing market is tanking, the credit markets are in crisis, and economists fear a recession could be on the way ? but in November, at least, that wasn't enough to slow down the American consumer.

CONSUMER confidence is falling, the odds of a recession have risen, analysts predict the worst holiday shopping since 2002 - and retail-industry executives are buying their companies' shares like never before. Limited Brands Inc Chief Executive Officer Leslie Wexner and eight other executives bought a record amount of stock last month after prices fell to a four-year low. Dillard's Inc director Warren Stephens made the biggest insider purchase ever as shares of the Arkansas-based department store chain headed for the steepest decline since at least 1980. Cambiar Investors LLC, Royce & Associates LLC and Becker Capital Management Inc say insider buying foreshadows a rebound. The last four times executives added to their holdings, the Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Retailing Index rose an average 9.9 percent in the next three months, topping a 6.2-percent average rise in the S&P 500 Index. Retail company officials increased their investments by US$346.4 million since the start

Energy costs' effects on inflation and consumer spending hint at both recession and resiliency. Soaring energy costs helped fuel a record jump in wholesale inflation and an unexpectedly strong gain in retail sales, government reports showed Thursday, sending mixed signals about the state of the economy.

A surge in November retail sales shows that consumer spending may not be slowing as expected. Meanwhile, producer price data underline inflation risks

The Federal Reserve disappointed Wall Street yesterday with its measly quarter-point reduction in interest rates. Yes, the Fed said, credit conditions have deteriorated and a recession is possible, but with consumer prices likely to end the year up nearly 4 percent, we're not exactly in the target...

BRITAIN won’t tip into recession next year but the economy will slow markedly as consumers tighten their belts. Such are the findings from a poll of 25 economists by The Business. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by just 1.9% next year; forecasts had already been slashed earlier this autumn as the storm clouds of the sub-prime mortgage debacle started to gather and as markets began to digest the impact of the Northern Rock saga. The freeze to global and British credit markets, the accelerating decline in house prices and a likely weakening in consumer spending growth

The US Federal Reserve remains likely to cut American interest rates next week, despite better-than-expected job growth figures which yesterday eased concerns that the housing slump will push the economy into a full-blown recession.

Consumer sentiment soured for a third month in early December as a housing recession and expensive gasoline left consumers at their gloomiest since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a report showed on Friday.

Reuters - Consumer sentiment soured for a third month in December as a housing recession and expensive gasoline left consumers at their gloomiest since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a report showed on Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment soured for a third month in December as a housing recession and expensive gasoline left consumers at their gloomiest since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a report showed on Friday.

By Adrian Ash. "The cannon-fodder of consumer credit – the battle-weary consumers themselves – must push ahead with the Christmas offensive. The United States, standing shoulder to shoulder with its partners in Britain, will stay in the trenches until the job is completed."