More bad economic news. Consumer spending slowed last month as incomes fell for the first time in almost two years. Purchases rose by 0.2 percent in August, but that’s after rising 0.7 percent the month before. Earnings, meanwhile, fell 0.1 percent, the first time earnings have fallen since October 2009. Wages and salaries fell 0.2 percent. The Institute for Supply Management found that its business barometer rose unexpectedly, however, buoyed mostly by manufacturing feeding demand from China.
