While you were sleeping US consumer flexes muscle

By Margreet Dietz
March 14 (BusinessDesk) - A report showing US retail sales in February far exceeded forecasts supported Wall Street, underpinning expectations the American economic recovery is here to stay with help from the Federal Reserve.
Retail sales jumped 1.1 percent last month, following a revised 0.2 percent rise in January. It was the biggest climb since September and far better than the 0.5 percent increase economists polled by Bloomberg and Reuters had expected.
"The economy in February is looking solid. None of this, however, i...
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