Awwal 10, 1432 / April 14, 2011, SPA -- U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday, after President Barack Obama announced his plan to cut the U.S. budget deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. In world markets, European stocks ended higher, led by the DAX in Germany rising 1.1 percent. Asian markets also ended higher, led by the Shanghai Composite in China rising about 1 percent. In U.S. economic news, U.S. retail sales rose modestly in March as gasoline prices soared and auto sales plunged, the Commerce Department reported. Total retail sales rose 0.4 percent last month, the smallest gain in nine months, after rising 1.1 percent in February, the department said. Economists had expected retail sales to increase 0.5 percent in March. According to the Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. economy has strengthened since early March, and said in its Beige Book report that "economic activity generally continued to improve." "While many districts described the improvements as only moderate, most districts stated that gains were widespread across sectors," the Fed said. --More
