NEW YORK TIMES / AP: Americans spent at the fastest pace in five months in February, pushing up retail sales by 1.1 percent from January. About half the increase reflected higher gasoline prices, but even excluding fuel purchases, retail sales rose 0.6 percent.
The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed that Americans kept spending last month despite higher Social Security taxes that took effect this year.
Core retail sales, which exclude the volatile categories of purchases of gasoline, autos and building supplies, rose 0.4 percent in February compared with January… (more)
