U.S. real consumer spending flat in February

Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:06:03 (GMT)

U.S. consumer spending was flat in February after adjusting for
inflation, the third consecutive month of weak consumer demand, the
Commerce Department reports.

Lofty egg prices showing no sign of cracking soon

SAN FRANCISCO
If you haven't shopped for eggs lately, get ready for some
sticker-shock: A dozen eggs cost $2 or more in most U.S. cities, up
about 45% in just eight months.

Capitol Report: Costly heating oil cools demand, prompts calls for
regulation

NEW YORK
The $ 1,000 fill-up slip for homeowners heating with oil has been
increasingly more common this winter in some areas of the northeast. So
too are the stories of crying customers confronted with fixed-incomes
and soaring prices for fuel.

Legg tries to sort out auction rate securities mess

NEW YORK
Asset manager Legg Mason said it is urgently trying to generate
liquidity for shareholders of seven closed-end funds it manages that
collectively own more than half a billion dollars of unsellable
auction-rate preferred securities.