Morning National News Wires Quick Hits: Consumers still nibbling
What you need to know about this morning's business news.
US consumer spending edges up in June
Consumer spending in June rose by the smallest amount in four months as shoppers cut back on purchases of cars and other big-ticket items.
The Commerce Department says consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent in June, the poorest showing since a similar increase in February.
The modest advance followed a sharp 0.7 percent rise in spending in May. The increase had been driven by heavy spending on autos. But in June, auto sales slowed.
Overall purchases of durable goods, the category that covers autos, fell 1.3 percent in June.
Personal income rose 0.4 percent for a third straight month, reflecting strong employment gains.
Economists believe steady employment gains will boost consumer spending and drive faster economic growth in the second half of this year.
US auto sales strong in July on SUV, luxury demand
Summer deals and big demand for SUVs and luxury vehicles kept U.S. auto sales strong in July.
Sales of new cars and trucks were expected to rise 3 percent to nearly 1.5 million, according to car shopping site TrueCar.com.
Fiat Chrysler's sales rose 6 percent over last July to 178,027, led by the Jeep brand with a 23 percent increase. Nissan's U.S. sales rose nearly 8 percent to 130,872.
Automakers lured buyers with summer discounts to clear out 2015 models. Toyota was offering zero-percent financing for five years on Camrys; buyers could also get zero-percent financing for six years on Ford Escapes.
Relatively low gas prices are boosting sales of trucks and SUVs. Nissan said sales of its trucks and SUVs set a July record, up 22 percent.
Europe stocks rise despite Greece plunge; Asia closes down
European stocks mostly rose, shrugging off a 22 percent plunge in the Athens benchmark, which reopened after a five-week shutdown. Asian shares closed lower on evidence of weakness in Chinese manufacturing.
Germany's DAX rose 1.1 percent to 11,432.31 and France's CAC 40 gained 0.8 percent to 5,123.51. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent at 6,701.13. Greece's stock market opened more than 22 percent lower as it reopened from a shutdown brought on by the near collapse of the country's financial system during its high-wire bailout negotiations. It recovered slightly, to trade 17 percent lower.
On Wall Street, Dow futures were up 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures flat.
"China will have several hard questions asked of it over the week, feeding into the concern it's facing a hard landing," said IG market strategist Evan Lucas in a report.
Investors were looking ahead to surveys of manufacturing and consumer spending due out Monday, factory orders Tuesday and data on employment and payrolls on Friday. The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. wages and benefits grew at their slowest pace in 33 years in the spring. That suggests companies are able to find workers without boosting pay, which could cause the Federal Reserve hold off any increase in interest rates.
Sears sales fall sharply in 2Q as it spins off real estate
Sears Holdings Corp. says a key sales figure fell sharply in the second quarter, particularly dragged down by weakness at its namesake stores. It's at least the 10th straight quarter that the metric has declined.
The company said that sales at stores open at least a year dropped 10.6 percent for the quarter to date.
This figure is considered an important measurement of a retailer's operating performance because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.
At Sears stores, the metric declined 13.9 percent. It fell 6.9 percent for Kmart locations.
The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said Monday that soft consumer electronics sales hindered its performance. Excluding that business, sales at stores open at least a year fell 9.1 percent, with a 5.4 percent decline at Kmart stores and a 12.5 percent drop at Sears locations.
Sears Holdings also announced the extension of a $3.28 billion credit line. The company said the credit line, along with $2.7 billion in proceeds from the sale of more than 200 properties to a real estate investment trust it spun off, gives it more financial flexibility.
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