ALL BUSINESS: Spam, TVs on consumers buying lists

While we all haven't turned into couch potatoes, some recent corporate news from the likes of Hormel Foods Corp., Jo-Ann Stores Inc., TiVo Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. provides mounting evidence that more Americans are entertaining themselves with backyard barbecues, craft projects and lots of television watching.

Why? Gas costs $4 a gallon nationally on average and it's stopping people from traveling far unless they need to.

Then when they do get to the stores, a gallon of milk costs nearly $4--or almost $6 if it is organic. Milk prices are up more than a 13 percent rise from a year ago, while the cost of bread has risen 14 percent from last spring, butter is showing nearly an 8 percent gain and coffee is up 4 percent in the last year, according to the Labor Department.

Even Spam has seen its price jump 7 percent from a year ago to $2.62 for a 12 oz. can. But that isn't slowing sales--Spam's maker, Hormel Foods, said strong sales of its pork-in-a-can helped push up its second-quarter profits 14 percent. Spam sales were up 10.6 percent in the 12-week period ending May 3, compared to last year, according to sales information coming from The Nielsen Co.

And higher prices aren't just being seen in food and fuel. Everything from diapers to detergent could become more expensive now that companies like Dow Chemical Co. and Eastman Kodak say they will raise prices to offset their soaring energy costs.

Consumer inflation is getting broader and deeper and, for most Americans, it is far outpacing their income growth.

The Commerce Department's latest reading on personal incomes showed that they rose by just 0.2 percent in April, half of the March increase. That would have been even weaker without the boost their income got as the government began mailing out the first of $106.7 billion in economic stimulus payments.

At the same time, the arrival of the stimulus checks didn't spur much in the way of consumer spending, which edged up a small 0.2 percent in April, just half the 0.4 percent rise in March. Excluding inflation, the performance was even weaker, showing no gain in spending after excluding price changes.

That's reflected in the latest data on consumer confidence, which fell to a 15-year low in May, according to the Conference Board. Spending intentions sagged significantly in most categories, including homes, autos and most big appliances.