Forecasters were expecting a spike in retail sales during April. The government said there was nothing of the kind. Retail sales last month rose just a tenth of a percent, with consumers proceeding cautiously, despite warmer weather. Taking out volatile spending on cars, gasoline and food, so-called “core” retail sales fell slightly. Not exactly a boom in the making.

Meanwhile, economic data from China covering April suggested across the board weakness in economic activity there — from output to investment to consumption — all missing the expectations of experts. These are leading to renewed calls for Beijing to ease up on its efforts to rein in its bubbly credit markets.  Marketplace regular Christopher Low, the chief economist at FTN Financial in New York is traveling in Hong Kong and joins us to discuss.

Representatives from Vallejo, California are visiting the White House Tuesday to talk about “participatory budgeting,” a unique democratic process where residents propose and choose city-funded projects. Residents in this small San Francisco Bay Area city voted-in participatory budgeting after the city went through a bankruptcy in 2008. A small portion of the city’s overall budget is allocated to the process, made available through a sales tax. This year, residents have $2.4 million to work with.