Dollar Sinks New Low In Europe (2/28)
"The dollar dipped to another record low Thursday as the U.S. Commerce Department reported no improvement in its second look at fourth-quarter economic activity.” Examine the preliminary 4Q economic activity performance (GDP). How may the FOMC may response to this development (Testimony)? Examine the current international short term interest rates (Rates). How might lower US interest rates affect the relative value of the dollar against the major currencies (Value)? Is the dollar undervalued or overvalued today (BigMacIndex)?

Sales And Prices For New Homes Slide Further (2/27)
"In more bad news for the housing industry, sales of new homes fell in January for a third consecutive month, shrinking activity to the slowest pace in nearly 13 years. The median price of a new home dropped to the lowest in more than three years. ” Assess the current monthly new home supply and demand imbalance (See: Table 1). How may this market condition affect businesses like Toll Brothers, a leading home builder (Release & Data)? Discuss how the housing industry may be a drag for the economy (Analysis).

Gasoline Prices Are Setting Records (2/22)
"The price of diesel fuel hit a record Friday — and gasoline prices are leaping so fast they could set records next week.” Assess where the current crude oil price is trading in references to the past 52 weeks (Prices). Discuss how rising crude oil prices may provide an economic incentive for domestic suppliers to produce more crude oil (Supply).

Microsoft Says It Will Share Secrets (2/21)
"Microsoft Corp. today announced a set of broad-reaching changes to its technology and business practices to increase the openness of its products and drive greater interoperability, opportunity and choice for developers, partners, customers and competitors. ” Discuss why Microsoft has taken a step to share its proprietary secrets (Analysis). Why is the European Commission interested in promoting competition (EU)? See what actions the Commission has taken recently to promote competition and protect consumer interests (Actions).

Fed Minutes Show Worried Central Bankers (2/20)
"Federal Reserve policymakers grew increasingly worried about the economy last month, with ‘several’ officials noting there was a very real possibility of an actual downturn, according to minutes of meetings. ” Review the January 29-30 th FOMC meeting minutes (Minutes). Discuss if the economy may be falling into a recession (Data)? Examine what leading economic indicators suggest where the economy may be headed (Indicators).

Workers’ Real Earnings Declined Last Year (2/20)
"Inflation-adjusted earnings for average workers have fallen 1.2% over the last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, as higher food and fuel costs have eroded purchasing power. ” Assess if inflation has picked up during the past year (Data)? Examine if workers wages and their benefits have kept up with inflation during the year (Wages). See how US household incomes fared during the past three years (Incomes).

Retail Sales Up In January (2/13)
"The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for January were $382.9 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous month and 3.9 percent above January 2007.” Assess how the recent monthly retail sales performances compare to the past periods (Trend). Calculate what percentage of GDP is made up of consumer or personal expenditures (See Table 3). Discuss why consumer spending is being closely watched for signals of whether the economy is falling into a recession (Analysis). Examine if the economy is falling into a recession (GDP).

Website Lets Consumers Compare Health Care Prices (2/10)
"A new company called Carol is trying to change that with a website that gives consumers a ‘care marketplace’ to search for medical services, compare quality and price and make appointments.” Assess how US health care spending compares with the OECD countries (Data). Discuss how changes in medical technology may be affecting health care costs (Technology). Speculate how a website service like Carol.com may help to lower US health spending (Website)? Is competition good for consumers?

Microsoft Proposes Acquisition For Yahoo (2/01)
"Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has made a proposal to the Yahoo! Inc. Board of Directors to acquire all the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 representing a total equity value of approximately $44.6 billion. ” Discuss why Microsoft is interesting in acquiring Yahoo (Analysis). Assess the current search engine market share data (Share). Why is the proposed acquisition expected to face many regulatory hurdles (Analysis)? Why is it important that the proposed merger is systematically reviewed by a government agency (Regulation)?

January Payroll Drops, First Time Since 2003 (2/01)
"The nation's employers unexpectedly shed 17,000 jobs in January — first monthly job loss since 2003 ” Examine the January Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Summary). Discuss what recessionary conditions are emerging in the job market (Conditions). Is the current job market condition portents a recession (Data)?

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