Summary Box: Consumer spending rises in July, helped by autos, but incomes still lagging

Summary Box: Consumer spending rises in July

SPENDING: Consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in July, the best showing in four months. It was helped by strong demand for autos.

INCOMES: Personal incomes rose 0.2 percent in July after being unchanged in June. Incomes are being held back by continued high unemployment.

OUTLOOK: Economists are concerned that without stronger gains in spending the economy will continue to struggle to mount a sustained recovery from the recession.