Retail sales point to flagging economic momentum B

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales contracted in March for the second time in three months and consumer confidence tumbled in April, a sign that tax hikes early this year have stolen momentum from the American economy. Retail sales fell 0.4 percent in March, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That missed analysts' expectations of a flat reading. The data supports the view that the U.S. economy continues to struggle and hasn't performed as well as analysts believed just a few weeks ago. Many analysts cut their growth forecasts for the first quarter. ...