U.S. consumer spending climbs in Feb.; other business briefs

NATION

U.S. spending climbs in Feb.

U.S. consumers stepped up spending in February after their income jumped, aided by a stronger job market that offset some of the drag from higher taxes. The gains led economists to predict stronger economic growth at the start of the year. Consumer spending rose 0.7 percent in February from January, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the biggest gain in five months and followed a revised 0.4 percent rise in January, which was double the initial estimate. Americans were able to spend more because their income rose 1.1 percent last month. That followed huge swings in the previous two months, which reflected a rush to pay bonuses and dividends in December before taxes increased. -- AP

Fisker eyes bankruptcy filing

Unless its celebrity customers such as teen idol Justin Bieber and actor Leonardo DiCaprio want to put a lot of their own cash into the business, it looks like hybrid sports car company Fisker Automotive is nearing the end of the road. Fisker has hired Kirkland & Ellis, a major bankruptcy law firm, to review the company's options while it continues to seek investment partners. "We are not commenting at this stage in the game," said Roger Ormisher, a Fisker spokesman. "There are too many moving factors and a number of different directions this can go." The automaker has been working for months to raise $500 million so it could restart production of the Karma, its only model, which is built in Finland. Fisker stopped making the $110,000 plug-in hybrid last year after A123 Systems Inc., the maker of its lithium-ion battery, filed for bankruptcy. The company ran into a cash crunch after the federal government froze an Energy Department loan to it. A bankruptcy liquidation or restructuring could leave the government about $192 million in the hole. That's what Fisker borrowed under the credit line before funding was shut off. -- MCT