The Greeks never used to have hero issues. But heroes have been in short supply in the country's hour of need, which could explain the rush to cinemas to spend time in the company of an 18th-century pirate turned caviar tycoon.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid hit a five-year low last week, and residential construction surged in December, the latest signs that the U.S. economic recovery remains on track.
The controversial government bailout of the huge global insurer, AIG, during the worst days of the financial crisis in 2008, will yield billions of profit for the US treasury and taxpayer. The treasury department announced Tuesday that it will sell 234 million shares in American International Group (AIG), bringing the estimated profit on the original AIG TARP assistance to $22.7 billion.
In America these days, if you are watching too much news, you're not getting the truth about the economy as much as political messaging and strategy. The truth is that the U.S. still has the strongest economy on the planet. America's performance should be measured against the current competition, not against the records it set in the 1990s or 2000s.
The economic news in recent weeks suggests that the recovery has hit a rough patch, but at least one forward-looking review of the macro trend says the rearview mirror may be misleading, as the economists see moderately improving conditions in the second half of this year.
U.S. auto sales remained an economic bright spot in May, with Chrysler reporting US sales up 30 percent. Meanwhile, a monthly survey of consumer confidence showed American sentiment at its highest level in four-and-a-half years, partly because gasoline prices have dropped.
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