Check out a flood of fresh trouble.
 
Consumers are already being clobbered by soaring food and fuel prices, and that has kept them from shopping for things like clothes.
 
But the floods in the Midwest over the past week are likely to make things even tougher on consumers. The floods have hit millions of acres of soybean and corn farms, removing more supply from an already tight market.
 
That is likely to add more to inflation, meaning less money in shoppers wallets, analysts said.
 
“CPI readings for the remainder of 2008 will be slightly higher than otherwise,” Citigroup economist Steven Wieting said in a  report. “This reduces real incomes and can also affect financial market expectations at the margin.”

The consumer price index, or CPI, measures the change in prices that consumers pay for goods and services.
 
So much for the rebate bump.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Staples win EU okay for Corp Express takeover
 
General Mills sees 2008 earnings above targets
 
Same-sex marriages boost California stores (WWD)

(Photo: Reuters)