Law Firm Can Bar Client's Wife From Spending Assets

Philadelphia-based law firm Marks & Sokolov can go after the assets of a former client's wife in attempting to collect on a judgment for more than $100,000 in legal fees, a divided en banc panel of the state Superior Court has ruled.

U.S. Consumer Spending Rises as Wages Lift Family Income

American families spent 0.3 percent more last month than the month before, which was in line with expectations, Commerce Department data showed on Friday.

Higher wages drove incomes up 0.4 percent, the most since February. Analysts said the increase could drive faster spending in the months ahead.

Rising wages and spending also appeared to give businesses a little more leverage to raise prices, with inflation outside food and energy picking up in August. That could bolster the case for the U.S. Federal Reserve to move forward with winding down a bond-buying stimulus program.

"This acceleration in core inflation will likely be encouraging to the Fed," said Millan Mulraine, an economist at TD Securities in New York.

The data backs the view that tax hikes and federal budget cuts are dragging on the economy less as the year goes on. Washington increased tax rates in January and slashed the federal budget in March.

But Wall Street and the Fed have appeared increasingly concerned that political gridlock in Washington could trigger a government shutdown next week and perhaps a debt default after mid-October, either of which could deliver blows to the economy.

Worries about the future are also rising among families.

U.S. consumer sentiment slid in September to its lowest level in five months as Americans saw higher interest rates and sluggish economic growth ahead, according to the final reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer survey.

The data had little impact on sentiment among investors, who remain preoccupied with the potential for fiscal crises. U.S. stocks fell and the dollar closed in on a seven-month low.

SOME BRIGHT SIGNS

The data from last month, however, was modestly upbeat.

Even after taking into account tax bills and price increases, incomes rose in August by the most since March.

"The pick-up in income growth in August suggests that consumption growth may even accelerate in the fourth quarter," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

Indeed, the recent gains in consumer spending, while still modest, appear to have stopped a worrisome cooling of inflation.

Economists warn that if inflation runs too low an economic shock could tip the economy into a spiral of falling prices and wages.

Core prices, stripping out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent in August, up from a 0.1 percent gain in July, according to the Fed's favored gauge.

Analysts pointed out that annualized readings for core inflation over the past few months now appear to be trending higher, suggesting a turning point may have been reached.

Still, annual inflation is lower than it was at the start of the year, according to both headline and core measures. These both came in at 1.2 percent in August, well below the Fed's 2 percent target.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Additional reporting by Luciana Lopez in New York; Editing by Krista Hughes)

Consumer Spending Rose Slightly in August

Consumers’ spending on goods and services rose 0.3 percent in August, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That is up from a 0.2 percent gain in July, which was slightly more than the 0.1 percent reported last month.

Income rose 0.4 percent in August, the best gain since February and up from a 0.2 percent July increase. Private wages and salaries rose 0.5 percent, while the government wages and salaries rose 0.2 percent.

The government figures would have been higher if not for forced federal furloughs that reduced wages and salaries by $7.3 billion.

Consumer spending drives 70 percent of economic activity. Many analysts say the increases are not enough to accelerate economic growth in the third quarter from the 2.5 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter.

“With more money coming in, consumers spent a little, just a little, more freely,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Americans grew more pessimistic this month about the economy, their own finances and government budget policies, according to a survey of consumer confidence released Friday.

The University of Michigan says its final reading of consumer sentiment dropped to 77.5 in September from 82.1 in August. It was the second straight decline after confidence reached a six-year high of 85.1 in July.

Paul Ashworth, chief United States economist at Capital Economics, predicts the economy is growing at an annual rate of 2 to 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. Still, the pickup in August spending could signal stronger growth in the final three months of the year.

But other economists are less hopeful. Peter Newland, an economist at Barclays, said that the modest increase did not change Barclays’ forecast for growth, at a 1.7 percent rate.

There are some signs that consumers may be better positioned to step up spending soon.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits has sunk to its lowest point in six years because few companies are laying anyone off anymore. That has led some economists to predict that employers added 200,000 jobs or more jobs in September, the most since February.

Consumer Spending and Income Rose a Faint 0.1% in July

After rising 0.3 percent in June, income was held back in part by steep government spending cuts that reduced federal workers’ salaries. Overall wages and salaries tumbled $21.8 billion from June, with a third of the decline coming from forced furloughs of federal workers.

Consumers cut their spending on long-lasting manufactured goods, like cars and appliances. Overall spending had risen 0.6 percent in June.

The tepid gains suggested economic growth was off to a weak start for the quarter.

A measure of consumer confidence slipped this month from a six-year high in July, as Americans expressed less optimism about the coming months. Americans said they were less confident that the job market would improve, but more confident that their income would rise.

Consumer spending drives roughly 70 percent of economic activity. So the weak spending report led some economists to sound a more pessimistic note on growth in the current quarter.

“This is a disappointing report on a number of levels,” said James Marple, senior economist at TD Economics. “Prospects for a pickup in economic growth in the third quarter hinge on a broad-based acceleration in spending by households and business to offset the ongoing drag from government. The data for the first month of the quarter are not following this script.”

Several analysts said that economic growth was unlikely to match the 2.5 percent annual rate reported Thursday for the April-June quarter. That was more than twice the growth rate in the first quarter and far above an initial estimate of a 1.7 percent rate for April through June.

The Federal Reserve will consider the latest data at its September meeting, when it decides whether to begin pulling back on its stimulus efforts. The most critical factor the Fed will weigh is the August employment report, due out next Friday.

Another concern is that rising interest rates could dampen consumer spending, particularly on homes and cars. Mortgage rates have already risen more than a full percentage point since May.

The small rise in spending was driven by a 0.9 percent gain in purchases of nondurable goods, like clothing. Purchases of durable goods like cars fell 0.2 percent, while money spent on services like utilities and doctor’s visits was unchanged in July.

A price gauge tied to consumer spending was up 0.1 percent in July compared to June. Prices excluding volatile food and energy are up just 1.4 percent compared to a year ago, significantly below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target for inflation.

Consumer Spending Barely Rises; Inflation Is Benign

Spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, could struggle to regain momentum as other data on Friday showed consumer sentiment fell this month.

The reports added to a number of signs that have suggested a loss of steam in the economy early in the third quarter after a fairly sturdy performance in the April-June period even in the face of higher taxes and lower government spending.

"There has been a lot of optimism about the economy accelerating in the second half of the year as the fiscal drag waned. The latest data suggests that's not happening," said Michelle Girard, chief economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending ticked up 0.1 percent, restrained by weak outlays on utilities and automobiles. Adjusted for inflation, spending was flat.

It is not likely to rebound anytime soon. A separate report showed the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index slipped to 82.1 in August from 85.1 in July.

The drop reflected concerns about higher borrowing costs. Long-term interest rates have risen more than a percentage point over the last three months in anticipation of the Fed scaling back its support for the economy.

"Less confident individuals don't become more active shoppers," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisers in Holland, Pennsylvania. "That does not bode well for growth."

U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data as investors kept a wary eye on developments in Syria. Stocks were trading lower, while U.S. Treasury debt prices were up. The dollar touched a four-week high against a basket of currencies.

With demand tepid, inflation pressures were subdued last month. A price index for consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent, slowing from a 0.4 percent rise in June.

Over the past 12 months, prices have risen only 1.4 percent. While that is the biggest increase since February, it is well below the Fed's 2 percent target.

Excluding food and energy, the price index for consumer spending nudged up 0.1 percent after advancing 0.2 percent in June. For the fourth month running, core prices were up just 1.2 percent from a year ago.

INFLATION BELOW TARGET

The lackluster spending and soft inflation data would argue against the U.S. central bank trimming the $85 billion in bond purchases it is making each month to keep interest rates low.

Many economists, however, believe the Fed will decide to begin tapering its buying, or quantitative easing, at its September 17-18 policy meeting.

"This does nothing to alter our view of tapering," said Eric Green, chief economist at TD Securities in New York. "Fear of unquantifiable financial risks within a QE regime that offers diminishing returns is driving the policy agenda, not strong growth and inflation."

The economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual pace in the second quarter, quickening from a 1.1 percent rate in the first three months of the year.

Economists said it was now unlikely that consumer spending this quarter would even match the second quarter's 1.8 percent growth pace. Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs, Barclays and RBS lowered their third-quarter GDP growth estimates by as much as half a percentage point to as low as a 1.5 percent rate.

Consumer spending continues to be constrained by sluggish wage growth. Income ticked up 0.1 percent in July after rising 0.3 percent in June.

Both private and government salaries fell last month. Furloughs at federal agencies as part of Washington's belt-tightening reduced salaries by $7.7 billion last month.

With spending matching income growth, the saving rate - the percentage of disposable income households are socking away - held at 4.4 percent.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, additional reporting by Steven C Johnson in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Today's Economist: Spending and Growth: A Rejoinder

I.M.F. Urges Washington to Repeal ‘Ill-Designed’ Spending Cuts

In its annual check of the health of the U.S. economy, the IMF forecast economic growth would be a sluggish 1.9 percent this year. The IMF estimates growth would be as much as 1.75 percentage points higher if not for a rush to cut the government's budget deficit.

The IMF cut its outlook for economic growth in 2014 to 2.7 percent, below its 3 percent forecast published in April. The Fund said in April it still assumed the deep government spending cuts would be repealed, but it had now dropped that assumption.

Washington slashed the federal budget in March, adding to the drag on the economy created by tax increases enacted in January.

The IMF said the United States should reverse the spending cuts and instead adopt a plan to slow the growth in spending on government-funded health care and pensions, known as "entitlements." The Fund would also like the United States to collect more in taxes.

"The deficit reduction in 2013 has been excessively rapid and ill-designed," the IMF said. "These cuts should be replaced with a back-loaded mix of entitlement savings and new revenues."

The IMF warned cuts to education, science and infrastructure spending could reduce potential growth.

While the Fund said total debt across all levels of government would likely decline after 2015, public finances are nevertheless on an unsustainable path due to an aging population and higher spending on health care.

"Now our advice is not just to slow down (budget cuts)," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a news conference. "Our advice is also to hurry up: hurry up with putting in place a medium-term road map to restore long-run fiscal sustainability."

She said effects of higher spending on health care and other programs build up over time, so it was important to act quickly to address them.

KEEP EASING FOR NOW

The Fund recommended that the U.S. Federal Reserve keep up its massive asset purchases at least through the end of the year to support the U.S. recovery, but should also prepare for a pull-back in the future.

The Fed is currently buying $85 billion per month of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in an effort to lower borrowing costs and spur employment growth. Lagarde said the IMF has assumed that the Fed would begin trimming bond purchases next year.

Speculation over when the Fed might start to pare back its bond buying has roiled financial markets recently. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stoked market speculation last month when he said a decision to pare the Fed's current pace of asset purchases might happen at one of the Fed's "next few meetings" if the economy looked set to maintain momentum.

Recent outflows from bond funds and the rise in volatility offer a worrying glimpse of how markets are likely to behave as the Fed works to scale back its enormous monetary stimulus.

The IMF said unwinding the easy-money policies would likely present challenges, and it was key for the Fed to communicate effectively with markets.

It also said the long period of low interest rates could have unintended consequences in the future, sowing the seeds of future financial vulnerabilities.

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Andre Grenon)

Consumer Spending Rises, Indicating Sturdy Growth

The data on Friday also showed a rebound in income growth, putting the economy in a better shape to deal with tighter fiscal policy, particularly $85 billion in across-the-board federal government spending cuts, known as the "sequester."

"The economy is in a good place now in terms of momentum and strength, and it will need it as the government spending cuts will take something off growth as the year progresses," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.

Consumer spending increased 0.7 percent last month after a 0.4 percent rise in January, the Commerce Department said.

Though part of the increase in spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, was because of higher gasoline prices, Americans also bought long-lasting goods such as automobiles and spent more on services.

Gas prices at the pump increased 35 cents a gallon last month.

After adjusting for inflation, spending was up 0.3 percent after advancing by the same margin in January. As a result, economists said consumer spending in the first quarter was on track to record its fastest growth pace since 2010.

"It appears that consumer spending actually accelerated in the first quarter despite the tax hikes implemented at the start of the year," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Some economists bumped up their first-quarter economic growth estimates.

Barclays raised its gross domestic product forecast by 0.7 percentage point to 3.3 percent. Macroeconomic Advisers lifted their estimate by three-tenths of a point to 3.5 percent.

The economy grew at only a 0.4 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter.

A separate report showed households this month shrugged off the deep government spending cuts, focusing instead on a steady labor market improvement, which is starting to boost wages.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment rose to 78.6 from 77.6 in February.

"Consumers have discounted the administration's warning that economic catastrophe would follow the reductions in federal spending, and consumers have renewed their expectation that gains in employment will accelerate through the rest of 2013," said survey director Richard Curtin.

And they have reason to be optimistic. Income increased a healthy 1.1 percent after tumbling 3.7 percent in January.

Personal income had increased sharply in December as businesses rushed to pay dividends and bonuses before tax hikes took effect this year. That also skewed income data for January.

U.S. financial markets were closed for Good Friday and will reopen on Monday.

LITTLE SIGN OF FISCAL DRAG

A 2 percent payroll tax cut expired on January 1 and tax rates for wealthy Americans also went up. The consumer spending and sentiment reports were the latest to show little sign the tighter fiscal policy has been a major drag on the economy.

Employment growth gained steam in February, factory activity touched a 1-1/2 year high and first-time filings for jobless benefits have only increased modestly so far in March.

Last month, the income at the disposal of households after inflation and taxes increased 0.7 percent after dropping 4 percent in January.

With income growth outpacing spending, the saving rate - the percentage of disposable income households are socking away - rose to 2.6 percent from 2.2 percent in January.

The higher gasoline prices pushed up inflation, with a price index for consumer spending rising 0.4 percent after being flat for two straight months. February's increase in the PCE index was the largest since August.

But a core reading that strips out food and energy costs rose only 0.1 percent after increasing 0.2 percent in January, showing no sign of underlying inflation pressures.

Over the past 12 months, inflation has risen 1.3 percent after a similar gain in the period through January.

Core prices were up 1.3 percent, well below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. They also had risen 1.3 percent in the 12 months through January.

The benign inflation picture should give the U.S. central bank room to continue with its monetary stimulus as it seeks to boost job growth.

The Fed said last week it would maintain its monthly $85 billion purchases of mortgage and Treasury bonds until it saw a substantial improvement in the job market.

"This is plenty of ammunition for all those Fed officials, who currently do not want to scale back the degree of monetary accommodation," said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York.

"For investors this must look like Goldilocks: Better economic data and ongoing monetary accommodation at the same time."

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, additional reporting by Luciana Lopez in New York; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

Reports Show Income Is Up, and So Is Spending

Data reported on Friday also showed a rebound in income growth, putting the economy in a better shape to deal with tighter fiscal policy, particularly $85 billion in across-the-board federal government spending cuts known as the sequester.

“The economy is in a good place now in terms of momentum and strength, and it will need it as the government spending cuts will take something off growth as the year progresses,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.

Consumer spending increased 0.7 percent last month after a 0.4 percent rise in January, the Commerce Department said.

Part of the increase in spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of United States economic activity, was because of higher gasoline prices. But Americans also bought long-lasting goods like automobiles and spent more on services. The price of gas rose 35 cents a gallon last month.

After adjusting for inflation, spending was up 0.3 percent after rising by the same margin in January. Economists said it was headed toward its fastest growth pace since 2010.

“It appears that consumer spending actually accelerated in the first quarter despite the tax hikes implemented at the start of the year,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Some economists bumped up their first-quarter economic growth estimates.

Barclays raised its gross domestic product forecast by 0.7 percentage point, to 3.3 percent. Macroeconomic Advisers lifted its estimate by three-tenths of a point to 3.5 percent. The economy grew a 0.4 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter.

A separate report showed that households this month seemed to shrug off the deep government spending cuts. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment rose to a reading of 78.6, from 77.6 in February.

“Consumers have discounted the administration’s warning that economic catastrophe would follow the reductions in federal spending, and consumers have renewed their expectation that gains in employment will accelerate through the rest of 2013,” said the survey’s director, Richard Curtin.

And they have reason to be optimistic. With steady improvement in the labor market, income increased a healthy 1.1 percent after tumbling 3.7 percent in January.

Employment growth gained steam in February, factory activity touched a one-and-a-half-year high and first-time filings for jobless benefits have increased just modestly so far in March.

Last month, the income at the disposal of households after inflation and taxes increased 0.7 percent, after dropping 4 percent in January.

With income growth outpacing spending, the saving rate — the percentage of disposable income that households save — rose to 2.6 percent, from 2.2 percent in January.

The higher gasoline prices pushed up inflation, with a price index for consumer spending rising 0.4 percent after being flat for two straight months. February’s increase in the PCE index was the largest since August.

But a core reading that strips out food and energy costs rose only 0.1 percent after increasing 0.2 percent in January, showing no sign of underlying inflation pressures. Core prices were up 1.3 percent, well below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.

The benign inflation picture should give the Fed room to continue with its monetary stimulus as it seeks to bolster job growth.

Oprah Winfrey Dad Admits Oprah Paid For Divorce Because Ex-Wife Was Spending Too Much Money

Vernon Winfrey, 79, decided to break up with Barbara, his wife of 12 years, after becoming sick of her spendthrift ways, which he says almost cost him his barbershop business, and after confiding his fears to his daughter’s long-term partner Stedman Graham, Oprah stepped in to help.

Vernon said: “One day when Stedman was in town for a speaking engagement, I told him over dinner what was going on and that I didn’t know how I was going to handle it but I wanted out of my marriage.

“He asked if I needed help and I said ‘Yes I believe so’. He immediately told Oprah and she told me to hire attorneys and she would take care of it.”

Refusing to leave Vernon filed for divorce in June and claims his wife spent most of his money and is refusing to leave the $1.6m Nashville home Oprah bought for him.

He told National Enquirer magazine: “I’ve filed for divorce and moved out of the beautiful home Oprah bought me to live in but I don’t own it.

“Barbara was spending money as if I were Oprah.”

No more free rides boo!

Oprah has always looked out for her daddy Vernon despite his immature behavior, philandering and potentially outing his daughter. She is the better person for turning the other cheek. The soon to be ex step mother needs to become gainfully employed and self supporting because Oprah’s legal team will ensure her ride is over.

Euro Watch: Spending Data Points to Continuing Woes in Euro Zone

Retail sales in the 17-nation euro zone fell 1.2 percent in October from September, and were down 3.6 percent from a year earlier, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported Wednesday.

For the entire 27-nation European Union, sales declined 1.1 percent from September and 2.4 percent from October 2011, Eurostat said.

The big dip in retail sales was partly a result of front-loading of purchases before value-added taxes rose in some countries, said James Nixon, an economist in London for Société Générale.

The fiscal crisis in the euro zone and the austerity measures employed to combat it have made companies reticent about hiring, helping to drive the euro zone into recession in the third quarter. That has created a vicious circle, in which falling consumer spending is expected to weigh further on the economy.

A reading Wednesday on euro zone activity from a private data and analysis firm also suggested the economy continued to contract. Markit Economics’ composite purchasing managers’ index for November came in at 46.5. That was a bump upward from the 40-month low of 45.7 in October, but the 10th straight month below 50, a level that suggests shrinking output.

On Friday, Eurostat reported that unemployment in the euro zone rose to a record 11.7 percent in October from 11.6 percent a month earlier, and that the jobless rate among those under 25 years of age was 23.9 percent.

The European Commission on Wednesday expressed grave concern about the problem of youth unemployment, noting that just the immediate cost to governments — in terms of lost revenue and social outlays — worked out to an estimated €150 billion, or $196 billion, a year, or 1.2 percent of E.U. gross domestic product.

It recommended a new program to address the problem, with measures including job guarantees for young people, labor market changes to reduce obstacles to hiring across European borders, and further efforts to provide high-quality training and apprenticeship programs.

The European commissioner for employment and social affairs, Laszlo Andor, said in a statement that the cost of failing to help put young people to work would be “catastrophic.”

The European Central Bank and its British counterpart, the Bank of England, will hold policy meetings Thursday, and though signs of weakness would appear to give the central banks scope for action, neither is believed to be planning any major changes to current monetary policy.

Economists expect the E.C.B. to leave its main refinancing rate at 0.75 percent, while the Bank of England is expected to stand pat at 0.5 percent.

Action by the central banks has helped to calm markets and relieve the pressure on the euro, but conditions remain unsettled. As an indication of the stresses that have sent investors scurrying for the perceived safety of major sovereign bonds, yields on France’s 10-year sovereign debt fell on Wednesday to around 2 percent, the lowest level on record.

The dismal retail sales data came as the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone’s permanent new bailout fund, said it had issued about €39.5 billion in bonds to cover the recapitalization of Spain’s banking sector.

Euro zone leaders agreed in June to provide up to €100 billion to help Spanish banks, which have been battered in the aftermath of a property bubble collapse and economic dislocation caused by austerity measures. The funds were originally raised by the bloc’s temporary bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the transaction Wednesday represented an effective transfer of that money from the old facility to the permanent one.

The fund said that €37 billion would be handed over some time in December to the Spanish government’s own banking rescue fund, the FROB, to cover the needs of BFA-Bankia, Catalunya Banc, NCG Banco and Banco de Valencia. The FROB will use the remaining €2.5 billion to capitalize Spain’s “bad bank,” a company called Sareb that is being used to sift through soured assets.

The action Wednesday “is an important event as the E.S.M. has now started to actively fulfill its role as the permanent rescue mechanism for the euro zone,” Klaus Regling, the head of the European Stability Mechanism, said in a statement.

Mr. Nixon, of Société Générale, predicted that the euro zone economy would shrink in the fourth quarter at an annualized 1.2 percent rate, but said he expected some of the northern European economies, including Germany, to start pulling away from the laggards in 2013.

“We may have reached a bottom,” Mr. Nixon said, citing an easing of tension in the market for sovereign debt and smoother financing conditions. “At least things aren’t getting worse any faster.”

Consumer Spending Rose 0.8% in September

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans increased their spending in September at twice the rate that their income grew, a sign of confidence in the economy. Still, consumers made up the difference by saving less for a third consecutive month, a troubling trend.

The Commerce Department said Monday that consumer spending increased 0.8 percent in September from August. That came after a 0.5 percent gain in August and was the best showing since February.

Personal income rose 0.4 percent, an improvement from a slight 0.1 percent gain in August and the best gain since March. But after adjusting for inflation and taxes, income was flat in September. That came after a 0.3 percent decline in August.

Consumer spending is important because it drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

A pickup in consumer spending helped lift economic growth in the July-September quarter, to a 2 percent annual rate. While that is faster than the 1.3 percent rate in the April-June period, it’s still too weak to create enough jobs to rapidly lower the unemployment rate.

Paul Dales, senior United States economist at Capital Economics, said weak income growth would most likely hold back spending in the coming months. Consumers can cut their savings by only so much, he cautioned. And if Congress fails to reach a budget deal by the end of the year, taxes will rise in January. That could also reduce consumer spending.

The spending gain in September reflected in part rising consumer confidence. The University of Michigan reported on Friday that its final consumer sentiment index for October had hit a five-year high. Falling gas prices and a slightly better job market were credited with lifting consumers’ outlook.

Still, households trimmed their savings to finance the increase in purchases, Monday’s report showed. The savings rate dropped to 3.3 percent of after-tax incomes in September, down from 3.7 percent in August and 4.1 percent in July.

Americans also paid more for gas in September. That drove an inflation gauge tied to consumer spending up 0.4 percent last month. But excluding food and energy, prices rose just 0.1 percent. Gas prices have dropped since then, which could encourage more spending elsewhere.

Economix Blog: Visiting the Doctor Less, but Spending More on Health

Dollars to doughnuts.

The average annual number of times Americans visit medical providers has been falling over the last decade, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. But their overall spending on health care is still rising.

Note: Data on medical services utilization are not available in the SIPP for 2006, 2007, and 2008. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2001 Panel, waves 3, 6, and 9; 2004 Panel, waves 3 and 6; and 2008 Panel, waves 4 and 7. Chart from “Health Status, Health Insurance, and Medical Services Utilization: 2010,” by Brett O’Hara and Kyle Caswell.

Among Americans 18 to 64 years old, the average person visited medical providers 3.9 times in 2010, compared to 4.8 times in 2001.

Both healthy Americans and less healthy Americans reported going to the doctor less frequently in 2010 than they did in 2001:

Note: Data on medical services utilization are not available in the SIPP for 2006, 2007, and 2008. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2001 Panel, waves 3, 6, and 9; 2004 Panel, waves 3 and 6; and 2008 Panel, waves 4 and 7. Chart from “Health Status, Health Insurance, and Medical Services Utilization: 2010,” by Brett O’Hara and Kyle Caswell.

Visits to the doctor and other medical providers may be falling, but health spending is still substantially higher today than it was a decade ago, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Expenditure Survey.

The typical household (including residents of all ages) spent $3,313 on health care in 2011, compared to $2,771 in 2001, after adjusting for inflation.

Sources: Consumer Expenditures Survey, Consumer Price Index.

Health care spending has generally been rising even as total household spending has stagnated or fallen in recent years. As a result, health care spending is eating up a larger share of total household budgets than it used to. As of 2011, the typical American household spent 6.7 percent of its total expenditures on health care.

Source: Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Almost every category of health care spending has been rising.

The average American household spent $768 on medical services last year, an increase of 3.1 percent from the year before. It also spent $1,922 on health insurance, an increase of 1.8 percent from the year before; and $134 on medical supplies, up 9.2 percent from the year before.

Annual household spending on prescription and nonprescription drugs fell 2.3 percent, however, to $489.

Spending growth on health insurance is slower than that for some other health care categories, but the base was so large to begin with that health insurance is accounting for a growing percentage of the typical household’s total health care spending. In other words, a bigger share of households’ health care spending is going through insurance companies as opposed to coming from co-payments and other out-of-pocket spending.

Source: Consumer Expenditure Survey.