U.S. consumers flex muscle; import prices signal weak inflation

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. Other data on Friday showed import prices fell in January for a seventh straight month as the cost of petroleum products continued to decline and a strong dollar undercut prices for a range of goods, pointing to weak inflation in the near term. The Commerce Department said retail sales exclu