Remember, it's growth that scares the bond market.
* * * * * J B K * * * * *
San Francisco
Sales at U.S. retailers climbed in March more than anticipated, signaling consumers will play a bigger role in a broadening economic recovery.
Purchases increased 1.6 percent last month, the most in four months, and gains for February and January were revised up, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Another report showed consumer prices rose 0.1 percent last month.
Companies from Target Corp. to Saks Inc. benefited last month from an early Easter, better weather and a pickup in hiring, indicating the expansion is no longer solely dependent on gains in manufacturing. A lack of inflation is one reason Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who testifies before congress today, and other Federal Reserve policy makers will probably keep interest rates low in coming months.
"Consumers are gradually finding their way back to the stores," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics LLC in Pepper Pike, Ohio, who forecast a 1.5 percent rise in sales. "The talk about the 'new consumer' turns out to be a lot of rubbish. We're seeing vestiges of the 'old consumer.'"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aq2Xj5LfKcIw
