The bottom line

Consumer spending rises while incomes remain flat

Consumer spending rose a modest 0.3 percent in February, a respectable showing given that parts of the Northeast were socked with more than 2 feet of snow during the month. U.S. incomes, however, showed no gain.

Associated Press

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Movie attendance and ticket prices are on the up and up

With movie attendance at its highest level in years, many cinemas around the country have raised ticket prices. Typical increases for conventional movies are less than 5 percent, but the ticket price of a 3-D movie is soaring to $20 at many IMAX theaters and is even higher in Los Angeles and New York.

CBSnews.com

Newspapers see worst year since the Great Depression

Last year was one of the worst ever for the newspaper business. Advertising revenues fell 27.2 percent, or more than $10 billion, from 2008, which at the time was billed as the worst year for newspapers since the Great Depression.

NYTimes.com

Where are the electronic engineers?

There are an average of 34 car recalls a year due to faulty electronics. Yet only two engineers out of 125 employed by the National Traffic Safety Administration specialize in electronics.

Bloomberg.com

The worst investors in America

U2 frontman Bono and his colleagues at Elevation Partners have been named “the worst investors in America” by financial website 24/7 Wall Street. The private-equity fund, named for a U2 song, owns 25 percent of smart phone maker Palm, whose stock currently trades at around $3.90 a share, down from $18 last September.

247wallst.com