Econ Roundup

"Take my money ... please," said the Henny Youngman Central Bank as it set its key interest rate below zero.

   The good news for the U.S. economy the past few days has included more jobs, a lower unemployment rate and another rise in Gross Domestic Product.
   The not-so-good news is that other major nations are still struggling, including a "slowdown and rebalancing" in China, increasing pressure for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, a negative interest rate from Japan's central bank, and confusion among delegates to the World Economic Forum as to the direction of the world's economy.
   So while the U.S. is economically healthy, the rest of the world is not  so much.
   The International Monetary Fund sees "subdued demand and diminished prospects" among emerging market and developing countries. And since these nations account for more than 70 percent of global growth, this does not bode well for the world. Moreover, the IMF noted, economic activity here declined for the fifth consecutive year.
  Last week, the Commerce Department reported GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 of 0.7 percent, compared to an increase of 2.0 percent in the third quarter. Separately, the IMF predicted that U.S. total output would rise by 2.6 percent this year, compared to 2.5 percent in 2015.
  Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that the nation added 151,000 jobs in January, making for 71 consecutive months of private sector job growth, for a total of 14 million jobs added since early 2010. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.9 percent, half what it was seven years ago, prompting President Barack Obama to say these are all good signs for the U.S., even as he warned of global weakness.
   Now, Republican candidates in the current presidential race will have to find something else to talk about, Obama noted, instead of lamenting what they claim is the economic gloom and doom that America faces.