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There was a slightly larger-than-expected increase of 0.7 percent in consumer spending from January to February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says.

Higher gasoline prices, though, were much of the reason for the rise. According to the bureau, if spending is adjusted for inflation the increase was a more modest 0.3 percent — the same as in January. And higher energy costs were behind most of the inflationary pressures last month.

Consumer spending is closely watched because consumers buy about 70 percent of all the goods and services that companies produce — meaning they drive the economy.

Meanwhile, personal income shot up 1.1 percent.

It's still far too early to know whether Congress will actually be able to achieve a comprehensive overhaul to the nation's immigration laws. All that's certain at this stage is that lawmakers on both sides of the partisan divide, and in both chambers, continue to act as though they think they can.

With the news over the holiday weekend that organized labor and business groups reached agreement on the contentious issue of allowing more unskilled workers to enter the U.S. legally, a significant obstacle was moved from the path of a bipartisan group of senators seeking a deal.

A Senate group, the latest "gang" that has formed in that body to work on a thorny issue, is expected to make public its proposed legislation next week, when Congress returns from its holiday recess.

But as anyone who closely watched omprehensive immigration overhaul efforts in 2006 and 2007 can tell you, the Senate part of this is the relatively easy piece. They also know that all the progress could certainly stall, as it did seven years ago.

Not only is the Senate controlled by a Democratic Party that's more cohesive on the immigration issue, but even conservative Republican senators — who of course represent an entire state — are likely to have many constituents who back changes to immigration law.

That's less true for many Republican House members, whose greatest fear may be a primary challenge from a contender to the right of them on illegal immigration. (It was during the Republican primary season last year when Mitt Romney, attempting to win the GOP nomination, talked of illegal immigrants and "self deportation.")

So, it's significant that the Republican-controlled House also has a bipartisan group of lawmakers meeting without much publicity to seek common ground on immigration. As with the Senate gang, the House bipartisan group is expected to unveil its ideas shortly after Congress returns next week.

Republican House members are reportedly being brought up to speed on the immigration issue because, as Bloomberg reports, the last time Congress seriously considered such legislation, "more than half of today's House Republicans weren't even elected."

White House press secretary Jay Carney sounded an optimistic note Monday:

"I would say, broadly, that we are encouraged by the continuing signs of progress that we are seeing in the Senate and the Group of Eight. ... However, we're not there yet. This process is still under way in the Senate. Legislation still has to be drafted, written. And we will evaluate the specific aspects of that legislation when it's produced."

Borscht and vareniki are on the menu at Taras Bulba, a restaurant named after Nicolai Gogol's Ukrainian folk hero. It's one of many Russian-owned businesses in Limassol, Cyprus.

Approximately 30,000 Russians live in this city — about a quarter of the population. There are Russian hair salons, supermarkets, schools and even a radio station.

Limassol's mayor, Andreas Christou, studied mechanical engineering in Moscow and speaks Russian fluently. He says Russians came to the city in droves after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"They came here because Cyprus had a reputation as a serious and reliable business center," Christou says. "This reputation was well-known."

Cyprus offered a low corporate tax rate, stable banks and rule of law. Today, Russians hold about one-quarter of all deposits in Cypriot banks — approximately 24 billion euros — roughly $30 billion.

But Michalis Papapetrou, a Cypriot lawyer with many Russian clients, says the wealthiest Russians don't live in Cyprus and do not deposit most of their money here.

"Russians and other foreigners, they form Cyprus companies and through this vehicle, they carry back their money to their countries for investment," Papapetrou says.

Many of those who do have their money here, Papapetrou says, did not expect the eurozone to make the surprise decision to use bank savings to subsidize the bailout.

"I have a client here from Russia that has a deposit in the Bank of Cyprus of 100 million," he says.

The bank is the country's largest lender and just announced that depositors with more than 100,000 euros could lose 60 percent of their deposits as part of the bailout deal. With such a hit to their wealth, Papapetrou expects some clients to flee.

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A decision by India's Supreme Court to reject Novartis AG's bid to patent a version of one cancer drug could lead to more exports of cheap medicine from that country to "poor people across the developing world," the BBC writes.

NPR's Julie McCarthy tells our Newscast Desk that the ruling, announced Monday, ends a six-year legal battle that has been closely watched by pharmaceutical firms, humanitarian aid organizations and generic drug manufacturers.

She adds that:

"The case highlights the cost difference between foreign pharmaceutical firms looking to protect their investments and local generic competitors copying and selling drugs for a fraction of their original cost. Novartis' drug, known as Glivec, was a breakthrough treatment in the 1990s for leukemia. It costs about $2,500 a month. The generic version: a couple hundred dollars. When the Swiss drug-maker sought a new patent, Indian officials said it was not changed enough to qualify as a new drug."