Hurricane Katrina caused $100 billion in uninsured losses in August while consumer spending plunged by the largest amount since 9/11, the government reported Friday.
Because of the devastation along the Gulf Coast, personal incomes fell by 0.1 percent in August, the Commerce Department reported. Incomes would have risen by 0.2 percent had it not been for the hurricane. And consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, plunged by 1 percent in August, the biggest decline since September 2001, as consumers pinched by soaring gasoline prices cut back in spending in other areas.
