GDP

Debt deal talks, Day 6: Unless the Tea Party compromises, a U.S. Government default is likely. For many voters, the Tea Party stance appears extreme, irresponsible, even irrational. But for Tea Party supporters, it’s a logical and necessary stance, when any compromise with a Democratic president is viewed as a defeat.

The US economy is at an inflection point after the end of the second round of Quantitative Easing (QE2). Two rounds of monetary and fiscal stimulus since 2008 have had only limited impact on growth or unemployment. The question is,'What next?' will there be another round of monetary and fiscal policy easing? Analysts at American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) are of the opinion that fiscal and monetary policies have reached their limits.

Longtime Federal Reserve antagonist U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was at it again on Wednesday, criticizing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the head of world's most powerful central bank, for a faltering economic recovery and suggested the country would be better off investing in gold.

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. July 13, 2011

Nearly every developed region around the world is suffering from the same fiscal imbalances as Greece

Unconventional economic times require unconventional answers, and awhile back an economist proposed one to create jobs: have the U.S. Government distribute a $3,000 gift card to every American over age 16.

Cutting federal spending in 2011 could tip the U.S. economy back into a recession, just as it almost did in 1937. On the contrary, if the federal government spent more on infrastructure/public works projects it would create many jobs, and achieve great things, like the construction of the Empire State Building in the 1930s and 1 World Trade Center today.

Americans, it’s been said, are a resilient, can-do bunch. Well, it looks like U.S. motorists will have to become even more resilient, as the days of $2-something per gallon gasoline appear to be gone.

Greece, tiny Mediterranean nation plagued by debt problems, still bears watching by U.S. investors/readers. The reason? Bond vigilantes who have driven up Greece's interest rates could do the same in the United States, if Washington doesn't eliminate its budget deficit.

June's dismal employment figures weigh heavily against President Barack Obama's bid for re-election, if history is any guide.

E. Coli allegations have resulted in an EU ban on Egyptian fenugreek seeds. Fears loom that the Egyptian economy will take a major hit.

It's a small world, after all. For U.S. readers and investors, Greece may seem like some small, exotic European country, but that could not be further from the truth. From an interest rate standpoint, if Greece defaults on its debt, U.S. interest rates, including home mortgage rates, are likely to rise.

Globalization, basically free markets and the transfer of jobs to lower-cost production centers, has many benefits. But is the new economic era exacting a cost on the U.S. economy in the form of a longer-than-normal period of high initial jobless claims?

Italian parliament will vote on budget cuts designed to save more than 40 billion euros.

In order to take a break from government service, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is considering leaving his post after President Barack Obama and Congress reach an agreement on raising the national debt ceiling.

With food prices around the world skyrocketing, increasing hunger and in some cases acting as a catalyst for regime changes in the Middle East, there is more to worry about on the horizon.

The number of Egyptians injured in protests today is actually more than ten times the amount reported by international media this morning.

Indonesian migrant labor advocates and analysts say they don't just blame Saudi Arabia for the controversial beheading of 54-year-old Ruyati binti Sapubi. They blame their native Indonesia, for not taking strong enough measures to protect its nation's migrant workers from abuse.

It's been said that Congress doesn't react unless American voters compel it to do so. Well, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is imploring Congress to 'get ahead of the curve,' on the budget deficit / debt ceiling issue, as the consequences of not acting could be enormous: it would leave the U.S. vulnerable to rising interest rates, if the Greece debt situation triggers another financial contagion.

The head of the world's most powerful central bank essentially stuck to the bank's latest U.S. economic forecast in his news conference with reporters Wednesday: the U.S. economy slowed in Q2, but growth is likely to pick-up in the second half of 2011.

In the ailing economies of the Arab spring, analysts are finding that in both the Arab world economies and in nature, oil floats.