The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index showed prices rising by 0.6 percent in March, the biggest advance since last October, as the cost of gasoline and other energy products shot up. Gasoline prices climbed 7.9 percent last month, the biggest increase since October, driven by soaring global oil prices.

So far this year, inflation at the consumer level is rising at an annual rate of 4.3 percent, compared with a 3.3 percent increase for all of 2004.

Even more worrisome, prices outside of the volatile energy and food categories - so-called core inflation - rose by 0.4 percent, double what analysts had expected and the highest increase in 2½ years. Core inflation is rising at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the first three months of this year, significantly higher than the 2.5 percent increase in 2004.

While inflation was rising, the Labor Department said in a separate report that the average weekly earnings of nonsupervisory workers, after adjusting for inflation, fell by 0.3 in March after having dropped by the same amount in February. It was the second month in a row that wages, after adjusting for inflation, had fallen.

The legislation was strongly opposed by consumer rights activists who said it would prevent vulnerable Americans from getting the fresh start they need. But Bush said the law was "restoring integrity to the bankruptcy process."

"Bankruptcy should always be a last resort in our legal system," he said. "If someone does not pay his or her debts, the rest of society ends up paying them." ...

People with incomes above their state's median income will have to pay some or all of their credit-card charges, medical bills and other obligations under a court-ordered bankruptcy plan.

Last week, investors were worried about the impact of slower economic growth on corporate earnings. The addition of inflation fears to the mix could put nerves on Wall Street even more on edge.