Consumer spending off to a solid start early in second quarter Manufacturing gauges soften, while housing market stumbles An employee adjusts diamond jewelry in the window of a store in New York. Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast Firmer consumer spending and a decisive narrowing of the merchandise trade deficit show the US economy is emerging in short order from a first-quarter pothole. Sustaining that momentum later this year is more of a question mark as manufacturing and housing soften along with employment and wage growth. Inflation, while easing a bit, remains elevated and the Federal Reserve will continue to press harder on the monetary policy brakes. In April, inflation-adjusted household purchases posted the strongest advance in three months and will help queue up a rebound in gross domestic product this quarter. The goods-trade deficit — […]