You can expect to find more discounts this year than in previous holiday shopping seasons.

Stocks slumped on Wall Street Friday, leaving the S&P 500 with its biggest one-day loss in almost seven weeks, as worries deepen about a surge in interest rates and the U.S. central bank's efforts to fight inflation.

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)WASHINGTON – Consumers spending and personal incomes both fell sharply in February as severe winter storms disrupted shopping in many parts of the country and the government wrapped up distribution of $600 relief payments. Consumer spending fell 1% last month, the Commerce Department reported Friday, the biggest drop since last April when spending tumbled 12.4% as the country was broadsided by the global pandemic. Consumer spending, which is closely watched because it accounts for 70% of economic activity, jumped 3.4% in January. Personal incomes, which provide the fuel for future spending, surged 10.1% the same month as the U.S. doled out $600 checks. The government reported that personal savings totaled a sizable $2.41 trillion with the saving rate, saving as a percentage of after-tax income, at 13.6%.