NEWS ITEMS: Economic growth in America slowed during the fourth quarter, as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the standard measure of performance, registered a negative one-tenth of a percent on the econ scale. Meanwhile, unemployment was up a notch in January, to 7.9 percent. And the housing industry, often used as a barometer of economic health, has not been as reliable as in the past. Building permits and housing starts are up, but "the rebound has not created a lot of construction jobs," according to a report by USA Today. And the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits rose in January.
As noted here last month, there's a bumpy road ahead.
All of which means Punxsutawney Phil might be as good at forecasting the economy as he is at the weather.
ODD THOUGHTS: Let's be cautious, and raise things only to a half new level. Strangers are never perfect. Being human, they are imperfect at best.
STATUS REPORT: Editor's Revenge is read regularly in more than a dozen countries beyond the U.S. and Canada, ranging from Ireland to Australia, with stops along the way in the UK, Germany, France, Russia, China and Hong Kong, among others.
If you like it, pass it on. If you disagree, pass it on anyway, but at least think on the points made.
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