Techs, dollar’s rebound lead Wall St. higher
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose on Thursday as investors snapped up technology bellwethers, including Apple Inc and IBM , and a rebound in the dollar eased investor worries about high energy costs and inflation.

Factory sector contracts, jobless claims jump
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in April while the number of workers claiming jobless benefits hit a four-year high and planned layoffs soared, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy remained on shaky ground.

Oil prices slide as the dollar extends its gains
NEW YORK – Another jump in the dollar sent oil prices below $111 a barrel Thursday as speculators who drove crude futures to nearly $120 pulled out of the market. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, rose to a new record above $3.62 a gallon.

Soaring prices for food, gas push consumer spending higher
WASHINGTON – Soaring prices for food, gas and other everyday needs pushed consumer spending to a faster pace than expected in March.

Consumer may get benefits from a Fed rate pause
WASHINGTON – While the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to lower interest rates appears to be over, there could be benefits for consumers in other places — like some relief from soaring gasoline and food costs.
Yes, but what about those who depend on the income from CDs, mainly retirees?  What happens to them?

About that GDP report (by Paul Krugman)
I’ve had time to look at it a bit more closely — and it’s much weaker than the headline number suggests (and MUCH weaker than the previous quarter, even though the growth rate was the same.) It’s not just that final sales fell, so that the economy grew only because of inventory accumulation. If you look at consumer spending, purchases of goods actually fell substantially.