The cost of living in the U.S. excluding food and fuel rose 0.2 percent in March for a third month, signaling inflation is starting to firm. The increase in the core consumer-price index reflected broad-based gains in rents, medical care, clothing and used vehicles, a Labor Department report showed Friday in Washington. The advance matched the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Including the volatile costs of food and energy, the index also rose 0.2 percent. A strengthening labor market may be giving workers the confidence to seek bigger wage concessions, which would prompt companies to raise prices ... (full story)