Personal Finance

Washington, D.C. – U.S. consumer spending fell by $8.1 billion, or 0.1%, in April 2014. It was the first monthly decline in consumer spending since April 2013 and followed a 1% increase of $117.6 billion the previous month.

New York -- Intuit has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Check, a mobile bill pay company with some 10 million registered users. The acquisition will help accelerate Intuit’s ability to offer bill pay across small business and personal finance products and create opportunities to retain, attract and serve additional customers.

Chicago - Renewed consumer spending is in line with pre-recession trends and consumer optimism is higher than it's been in years. In 2013, Mintel estimates that personal consumption expenditures on consumer goods reached $10 trillion for the first time.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Total Store Expo later this year.

The trade group said Bernanke would participate in the business program at its Total Store Expo on August 24 in Boston. Bernanke served as chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 through 2014 and oversaw the central bank during one of the nation’s most tumultuous financial periods.

Montpelier, Vt. – The Vermont state legislature has voted to raise the minimum wage in the state from $8.73 an hour to $10.50 an hour. The increase will occur gradually during a four-year period and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to sign the bill.

“We're raising the minimum wage higher in each of the next four years, joining a growing number of states nationwide that are moving on their own in the face of congressional inaction," Gov. Shumlin said in a prepared statement.

An effort to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 failed on Wednesday, as the issue was not able to clear a procedural vote in the Senate. Senators predominantly voted across party lines, which places Democratic senators in favor and Republican senators opposed.

According to published reports, while the defeat was expected it is serving as a rallying cry for Democrats preparing their next campaign.

American Express added Walmart’s U.S. network of 4,100 stores as locations where customers can participate in the card issuers prepaid Serve offering.

New York -- Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes & Noble Inc., has sold 3.7 million shares of Barnes & Noble common stock. After the sale, his holdings are expected to represent approximately 20% of Barnes & Noble’s common stock outstanding.

Riggio said the sale is part of his long-term financial and estate planning and that he has no plans to sell more stock this calendar year.