date:May 15, 2014
running even lower at 1.2 percent, against the central bank's target of a 2 percent inflation rate.
Many consumers are still struggling in a tough labor market. Labor force participation remains depressed. Private-sector wages were unchanged in April and over the past 12 months have averaged monthly increases of just 0.16 percent.
There's still a large swath of the population that just doesn't have the spending power, said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.