Consumer spending held up even better than expected in July as inflation pressures showed more signs of easing, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Advanced retail sales accelerated 1% on the month, according to numbers that are adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been...

  Inflation rose as expected in July, driven by higher housing-related costs, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday that is likely to keep an interest rate cut on the table in September. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased 0.2% for the...

The news Tuesday was good for inflation, and investors hope it will get even better Wednesday when the Labor Department releases the July consumer price index report. With the score being one down, one to go on confirming that the early-year jump in prices either was a fluke or the...