• By   • Kathleen Madigan   Even with faster income growth and
more confidence in the labor markets, U.S. consumers are not
rushing to shop. The latest numbers, out Thursday, show after
accounting for prices, consumer spending has been flat for three
consecutive months.  Some of the weakness can be traced to the
warm winter weather. Mild temperatures have meant less need to
turn up the thermostat. The Federal Reserve said utility use
plunged 2.4% in December and another 2.5% in January.  The drag
from higher gasoline prices is also diverting spending on other
items. Economists at Wells Fargo point out that the impact from
higher gasoline prices tends to fall heaviest on middle and
lower income households, which probably explains some of the
weakness.  Another explanation to the weak spending trend is
that households have not abandoned the New Frugality
adopted–willingly or not–during the recession. The savings rate
is hovering around the 5% mark for the past two years. That’s a
bit down from 6%-plus during th