Consumer spending barely rises again

``Consumer spending rose slowly in October for the second straight month, as Americans boosted savings and spent less on utilities, cars and trucks. Spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the second month in a row, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was below Wall Street expectations: economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% increase.'' -- Keep in mind that paying down debt is called "savings" in these kind of headline analyses. Because Americans remain mired in debt, of course, they have to try to pay it down more than ever. That's why it is coinciding with a cut-back in consumer spending.