Personal Spending Rises 0.5%, Commerce Dept. Reports

March 1, 2007 8:40 AM, EST

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Consumer personal spending rose 0.5% in January, and incomes rose 1%, boosted by bonus payments, the Commerce Department said Thursday.The spending increase followed a 0.7% gain in December, which was the most in five years. Incomes rose 0.5% in December.Economists had forecast a 0.4% increase in spending, Bloomberg reported.An increase in consumer spending could increase demand for new factory goods and the trucking shipments that get them to stores.