A slew of economic reports released Tuesday morning paint a picture of a U.S. economy that will most likely be slow in its recovery.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported personal spending increased 0.5% in April, while personal income moved up 0.3%.
The jump in personal income, or income after taxes, follows an unrevised March increase of 0.4%, while the personal income figure was revised down slightly to a 0.3% increase the month before.
The increase in consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of economic activity, is the fifth consecutive monthly increase, but the April figure was slightly lower than analysts were expecting. The report on personal income was in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that consumer confidence in the economy edged up slightly in May, but has yet to show any real increases over the past three months.
The private research group The Conference Board reported its Consumer Confidence index rose to 109.8 in May, up from a downwardly revised 108.5 in April.
They also reported the Present Situation Index, which measures Americans' current views of the economy, climbed from 106.8 to 110.3, while the Expectations Index, which measures feeling about the economy six months down the road, fell slightly to 109.4, compared with 109.6 in April.
"Consumers’ upbeat mood about current business and labor conditions underscores the economy’s continuing recovery, but the latest retreat in expectations suggest that the pace of economic growth will not accelerate in the months ahead," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center.
The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households.
Finally, the National Association of Realtors reported a big surge in existing home sales for April, registering a 7% increase to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.79 million units, up from an upwardly revised 5.41 million in March.
This news comes as the government released a report Friday indicating the American economy grew at a 5.6% annual rate in the first quarter of the year, down slightly from a first reported 5.8% increase.
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