Economy: Aug. 3, 2001
Shrinking consumer confidence and fears of a pending downturn in the economy did not put a damper on sales in June; consumer spending rose 0.4 percent as consumers spent $25.7 billion more than they had in May, according to the Department of Commerce, which attributed the uptick to an increase in the sale of big-ticket items such as cars...The Los Angeles textile and apparel industries are expected to be hit hard in the second half of the year as the region’s economy continues to slow, according to the mid-year forecast by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.; Southern California’s economy is expected to stave off a full-scale recession, in part because of large public works projects, including expansion plans at the region’s ports, the Alameda Corridor and the extension of the Blue Line train, which will connect downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena.
