Consumer Confidential: Gas spending up, American Airlines sues Orbitz, detergent cartel fined

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Here’s your waitin’-for-the-Robert-E-Lee Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- Consumer spending rose last month, but that’s not exactly a sign that the economy is firing on all cylinders. Yes, we went shopping for clothes, furniture and electronic gadgets, but we also spent a bunch more on gas. Retail sales increased 0.4%, the Commerce Department says. This is the ninth consecutive monthly gain. But the increase shrinks to a mere 0.1% when sales at gas stations are excluded. Even so, businesses added to their stockpiles in February for a 14th straight month, indicating hopes of increased sales going forward. Still, analysts worry that rising gas prices could put the kibosh on other spending. The nationwide average for regular gasoline is now $3.80 a gallon, up from $3.56 a month ago.

-- American Airlines has filed a lawsuit against travel website Orbitz and ticket distributor Travelport, accusing them of monopoly tactics. American says the companies are trying to control the distribution of airline tickets to business travelers and are retaliating against American for objecting to their practices. Orbitz and Travelport denied the airline’s charges. Orbitz says that American is trying to grab control over ticket distribution to limit customer choice and reduce competition. American’s antitrust lawsuit is the latest twist in an ongoing battle that led American to pull its flight listings from Orbitz in December. American is trying to shift sales to its own website to reduce commissions it pays to online travel sites.

-- It’s like you can’t trust anyone anymore. Consumer products giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble have been fined $456 million by European regulators for fixing the price on laundry detergent in eight countries. The detergent cartel operated in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands between 2002 and 2005, the regulators say. As part of the settlement, the European Commission cut the fines by 10% in return for admission that the companies participated in the cartel. P.&G. owns the Tide, Gain and Era brands, while Unilever makes detergent under the brand names Omo and Surf.

-- David Lazarus