Consumer Spending Up .5 Percent in April

Consumers' incomes dipped in April but that didn't stop them from spending briskly.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that personal incomes fell by 0.1 percent in April, following a robust increase of 0.8 percent in March.

Consumers' spending -- a key ingredient to a healthy economy -- rose by a strong 0.5 percent in April, following a 0.4 percent gain in the previous month.

The spending figure was stronger than the 0.4 rise economists were expected. But the incomes figure was weaker; economists were calling for a 0.3 percent rise.