The Economy's Bright Spot

The trend in consumer spending posted an encouraging profile during the last full month of the Obama adminstration's tenure, prompting some analysts to reaffirm the case for another round of raising interest rates. The year-over-year change for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) ticked up to 4.5% in December, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That puts the annual trend for spending at the highest rate since Nov. 2014.