The BEA released its “advance”, or first, estimate of second quarter GDP today, and it might not surprise anyone that the economy grew more slowly in the second quarter than in the first quarter. The question is: how much slower? The quarter 2 estimate is 1.5 percent, compared with a revised estimate of 2.0 percent… Read more

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is an index (actually, there are 150 indexes covering 10 currencies and 15 maturities from 1 day to 1 year) that is reported daily by the British Bankers Association (BBA).  LIBOR settings are established each day as the result of a survey of a panel of large international banks. … Read more

A common refrain about economic policy and performance in the United States over the past thirty years is that inequality is rising and the middle class is disappearing.  The implication of the latter claim is that people are falling out of the middle class into the lower income class.  Of course, if you define “middle… Read more

This from a CNNMoney article: NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The International Monetary Fund said Monday that the global economy should continue to limp along at a modest pace, assuming leaders in Europe and the United States do not make things worse. In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook, the IMF said it expects… Read more

The Labor Department’s Jobs report came out this morning at an 80,000 job increase for June, an 84,000 gain for the private sector and a 4,000 loss for the public sector. We had forecast a 60,000 increase overall and a 70,000 increase for the private sector. The Unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2 percent, the… Read more