Shoppers lift economy but will they keep spending?

WASHINGTON — The econ­omy might not be on the brink of another reces­sion after all. Con­sumers, who drive most eco­nomic growth, spent more on cars, fur­ni­ture, elec­tron­ics and other goods in July — and more in May and June than pre­vi­ously thought. That burst of activ­ity is encour­ag­ing because it shows many Amer­i­cans were will­ing to spend despite high unem­ploy­ment, scant pay raises, steep gas prices and dimin­ished wealth. If it keeps up, the econ­omy might rebound after grow­ing at an annual rate of just 0.8 per­cent in the first half of 2011.