While you were sleeping US consumer delivers

While you were sleeping US consumer delivers
By Margreet Dietz Aug 15 (BusinessDesk) - Wall Street advanced, along with equities in Europe, amid reports of better-than-expected economic resilience on both sides of the pond. US retail sales climbed 0.8 percent in July, according to Commerce Department data, surpassing analysts' expectations for a gain of 0.3 percent. It was the first increase in four months and a welcome sign of life from the driving force behind the world's largest economy. "Here comes the US consumer," Harm Bandholz, an economist at UniCredit in New York, told Reuters...