SO THE VALETUDINARIANS GOT THE "SAVINGS RATE" THEY WANTED...:

Income Rises on Stimulus, Spending Drops: Construction Spending Jumps 0.8% (JEFF BATER, 6/01/09, WSJ)

The income of Americans unexpectedly surged in April, elevated by the economic stimulus package, while spending declined and the level of savings increased to the highest in 50 years of records.

Separately, U.S. construction spending made an unexpected jump in April, with a rare climb in residential outlays and an increase in commercial construction. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management reported the factory sector contracted at a slower rate. [...]

Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 5.7% in April, the Commerce Department said. It was 4.5% in March and 4.1% in February. The 5.7% rate was the highest since 5.9% in February 1995; the personal savings level of $620.2 billion was the largest since records began in January 1959.

...and the recession to go with it.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2009 2:43 PM