Strong U.S. consumer spending counters recession fears

U.S. consumer spending regained momentum in January as households ramped up purchases of a variety of goods, in a hopeful sign that economic growth was picking up after slowing to a crawl at the end of 2015. "The markets may have decided that the U.S. is headed for recession, but obviously no one told U.S. consumers," said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.