Deloitte: Consumer spending still down - Portland Business Journal:

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The index fell to 1.35 percengt from an downwardly revised gainof 1.44 percentt in April. Deloitte said the index analyze stax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home pricesw to try to track consumer cash flow as an indicatorr of future consumer spending. "The year over year pace of declind in real consumer spendingy appears tohave stabilized, however, recovery is being delayeds by a sharp increase in consumer savings, whichg has risen to 5.7 percent from zero a year said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Deloitte Research and author of the monthly index, in a statement.
"However, the weaknesd in the index was driven almost entireluy by fallinghome prices, which are down nearly 14 percent over the past year, undermining smalpl gains in real wages, a declining tax burden and current stabilization in new unemployment claims." The report noted the tax burdenm continues to drop with the weakenin g of the economy. It is at a level only seen on a few occasionas over the past 50 years during brief periods following tax Continued declineis expected. Also notable, real wage growtb continues to post small gains due to falling pricesfor energy. Real wages are up 4.
3 percen t from a year ago and on an annualized basizs are up 8 percent over the last nine montha as energy prices have given a big boost to consumerpurchasing power, the inde x said.