Money that isn't part of the consumer spending drive for which the U.S. government is calling. (Photo: Flickr)

United States financial numbers for May 2010 are in, and according to Bloomberg Business, individual incomes outpaced consumer spending. This reportedly made it possible for households to boost their savings and support the economic recovery, although how slower spending boosts the nation’s economic recovery is in question. It could be viewed as another instance of reporting sleight of hand, similar to the way U.S. unemployment numbers were being reported the past few months.

Consumer spending – Where the money needs to go

Reports indicate that the table is gradually being set for increases in consumer spending. Payroll numbers are up, Americans are working longer and salaries are trending upward. Then again, Bloomberg reports in another story that the large number of jobless in America actually lowers salaries as there are so many applicants (supply and demand), so perhaps one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing in Michael Bloomberg’s domain. Whatever the case, the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates steady, so fewer folks will have to dive into the nearest cheap personal loan bunker to make ends meet.

Consumer spending won’t propel recovery

However, as RBS Securities economist Omar Sharif (not the bridge-playing actor) told Bloomberg, the level of consumer spending should be enough for sustained growth, but not enough to drive recovery efforts. Yet despite underwhelming growth in consumer spending, numbers still beat the median estimate of 61 economists surveyed by Bloomberg (0.1 percent gain). Wages were up 0.5 percent (1.3 percent since March), which was the largest increase over three months since December 2007 when the current recession is believed to have begun, and people looked to the easy loan more often than before. As a result, savings increased significantly: 4 percent from April into May ($454.3 billion). That’s the highest such increase in a single month since September 2009, reports Bloomberg.

It’s good news, for the most part

According to Sal Guatieri of BMO Capital Markets, American consumers have effectively rolled with the punches. “As long as jobs are coming back, people will continue to spend,” he told Bloomberg. Paying down debt such as from a fast personal loan and rebuilding savings are admirable financial goals that will continue to see improvement as positive economic factors continue to emerge.

Sources:

Bloomberg Business

Bloomberg (lower salaries)

Consumer spending from the Fox Business point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmK9gC2nW0Y

Google's hoping offices will check out their Google Apps Marketplace. Image from Flickr.

With the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace, Google has fired yet another shot across the bow of other office programs. If you are like most office workers, every morning you sign into and open up a wide variety of email programs, calendar applications, company chat programs, intranet sites, and task-specific productivity tools.That is a lot of time spent trying to make it to pay day. Google Apps Marketplace hopes it can help you distill all of that into one solution.

Google Apps Marketplace extends existing tools

Currently, Google Apps is a web program that combines email, documents, calendars, websites, groups, and more into a single sign-in for each company. With the launching of Google Apps Marketplace, even more programs can be integrated into a company’s already-existing Google Apps Account. One sign-in, one set of navigation, and one cloud database – for hundreds of programs.

Google claims Apps Marketplace can eliminate hassles

On their official blog, Google claims that using Google Apps and the programs available in the Apps Marketplace, companies can eliminate a lot of the “everyday hassles” they are used to. Without new software to download and update, and without multiple logins, they believe that most offices would be able to save time and money. They also highlight several apps that could definitely prove to be useful for many businesses, including Intuit Online Payroll and Professional Services Connect. Even payday loan lenders could use some of the available customer relationship management tools.

Is “cloud computing” with Google Apps Marketplace safe?

One of the largest concerns that have been raised about “cloud computing” are the potential security concerns for data. Cloud computing is where information is not stored on the computer sitting on your desk. Instead, information is stored on a company’s computers (in this case, Google’s) that are connected to the internet and can be accessed from any other internet-connected computer. While this improves accessibility to a huge degree, it does also mean that the information is processed online over and over again. Security can become a concern every time data is transmitted – so cloud computing worries some. However, most service providers, such as Google Apps and their Marketplace programs, have beefed-up security to help combat this worry.

Check out the Google Apps Marketplace for home, too

Even if you aren’t a business user, the Google Apps Marketplace is a fun place to poke around. If you’re like me, business contacts are about more than what happens in the office. The Google Apps Marketplace offers more than a few Apps that I will most likely be integrating with my personal Google accounts to make my family accounting, projects, and calendar.