Consumer spending in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in September as incomes (PITLCHNG) rose at the slowest pace of the year, indicating the economy will have difficulty sustaining a pickup in growth into the end of the year. Expenditures decreased 0.2 percent last month, weaker than any economist projected in a Bloomberg survey, after rising 0.5 percent in August, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Incomes increased 0.2 percent, the smallest gain since December. Wages that are barely outstripping the pace of inflation may be restraining spending by some households, while slower increases in home ... (full story)