Boomlet

   Beware the boomlet. Sudden sharp increases often cannot be maintained, and can lead to another drop as an economy moves to recovery.
   And while the U.S. economy seems to be advancing nicely -- third quarter growth, as measured by GDP, posted a strong 2.8 percent leap, up from 2.5 percent in the second quarter -- other economies in the world are still struggling.
   However, the nation's poverty rate was stuck at 16 percent in 2012, the Census Bureau noted, virtually unchanged from the year before.
   Personal income edged up a bare 0.5 percent in September, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said, and the consumption increase lagged income -- up 0.2 percent. The income increase in September was the same as in August, while the spending increase declined. Meaning: Americans are cutting back on spending.
   Overall, U.S. economic growth will pick up next year, according to a wide-ranging report from the International Monetary Fund. On the other side of the world, the economy in China -- the world's second largest, after the U.S. -- "is now projected to grow at 7.25 percent next year," said IMF regional director Alejandro Werner.
   However, China's economy is vulnerable because of the extremely strong growth rate, and the government there is moving to tame the tiger, and "move to a more balanced and sustainable growth model," said IMF analyst Steven Barnett.
   
   In Europe, unemployment remains high -- Greece and Spain show rates of about 26 percent, according to data compiled by Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union. Economic recovery there remains fragile, and is not likely to pick up for months, and the rate of inflation is down to less than 1 percent. Overall, growth in Europe next year is likely to be just 1.1 percent in the euro zone, and 1.4 percent throughout the EU, news reports said.
   And central banks are continuing their efforts to stimulate economies through low interest rates. The latest report from the Bank of England said it will keep its lending rate at 0.5 percent. 

   Meanwhile, America is changing. Which is always true of any country and culture, but here are a few examples.
   -- Teen births are at historically low levels, according to the Census Bureau, and more women are delaying motherhood until their 30s.
   -- Recruiting younger agents is the main challenge for real estate firms, according to a new survey.  "The real estate business is aging out," said Renwick Congdon, CEO of Imprev, a real estate software firm based in Bellevue, Wa. "Broker-owners are under pressure to find new talent," he added.
   More than 40 percent of those in the field are older than 60, according to data from the National Association of Realtors, and only 6 percent are younger than 34.
   Comment from our itinerant Dublin correspondent: "Every country needs to replenish its population one way or another. If the birth rate is dropping in the US then the population still needs to be replenished. The next time someone makes a case about restricting immigration to the US, perhaps a case should also be made for those already in the U.S. to start making more babies."

   So why should Americans care about conditions in Europe or China or anywhere else? Because the world economy is more interlinked than ever. Any attempt to withdraw and resort to an isolationist tactic can only backfire.
   Isolationism failed 80 years ago. It will fail again now.