Data issued last week confirmed the economy grew from January through March at around the 2.5 percent annualized pace calculated by the Commerce Department in its advance estimate released April 26. What the figures also confirmed is that the pickup from the...
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Photograph by Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
A woman looks at bags inside a Prada SpA store in the SOHO neighborhood of New York, on May 10, 2013.
Consumer Spending Undercuts ‘Spring Swoon’ Economic Concerns
Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Construction crews work on new homes being built in San Ramon, California, on April 12, 2013.
Building Permits Dwarf Ground-Breaking
Applications to build homes climbed in April to the highest level since June 2008, helping alleviate concern that a slump the same month in construction starts on new houses would mean less support for the economy in the second half...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
An employee grabs sheets of five dollar to be loaded into a machine at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2013.
Inflation Concern Misplaced, Prices Cool
Arguably, the most important news from today’s Commerce Department report on consumer spending and incomes had little to do with either. The data also showed inflation is getting uncomfortably low. Prices tied to consumer spending patterns, or the unfortunately named...
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Photograph by John Moore/Getty Images
U.S. Office of Air and Marine (OAM) pilot Rob Smith performs a pre-flight check on an Astar B-2 helicopter before flying a patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border on April 11, 2013 in McAllen, Texas. The OAM, which assists U.S. Border Patrol agents from the air in locating undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers, has cut back flights drastically due to federal sequestration budget cuts.
Sequestration Not Coming Out in Wash
Today’s Commerce Department report on orders for durable goods may be providing the first hint that sequestration — or the automatic across-the-board federal spending cuts that took effect in March 1 — is starting to filter into the economy. Bookings...
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Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Construction crews work on new homes being built in San Ramon, California, on April 12, 2013.
Rentals on Fire — Construction, That Is: Driving Housing
The U.S. housing market looked even healthier today on growing demand for rental properties. Data released by the Commerce Department showed builders broke ground on 1.04 million new homes in March at an annualized rate, the most since June 2008....
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Photograph by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
The 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
Economy: Trouble Mustering Golf Clap
The Masters, golf’s first major tournament of the year that is currently under way in Georgia, helps usher in spring. Also emerging at the start of the spring season is tepid economic data. And figures today showed the economy is...
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Photograph by David Duprey/AP Photo
Consumer spending in New York.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 0.7
That’s the percentage increase in consumer spending in February, the biggest jump in five months. Consumer spending rose by $77.2 billion in February, compared with an increase of $40.8 billion and 0.4 percent in January that was larger than previously...
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Photograph by Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
V-22 Osprey aircraft sit on the deck of the USS Kearsargeat docked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, Feb. 28, 2013.
Incomes Signal U.S. Economic Gains
Income gains are showing the world’s biggest economy was in much better shape at the end of 2012 than the growth numbers indicated. Gross domestic income, or the money earned by the people, businesses and government agencies whose purchases go...
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Photograph by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Penny Pritzker, chairman and chief executive officer of PSP Capital Partners LLC, in Chicago.
Pritzker’s Prize: Commerce Candidate
Written with John McCormick President Barack Obama is close to choosing Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, who led fundraising for his 2008 campaign, as his next commerce secretary, according to three people familiar with the matter. Pritzker, whose family built the...
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Photograph by Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks to the Economic Club of New York on Nov. 20, 2012.
Bernanke’s Green Light for Easing
The latest inflation reports tied to consumer spending give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke a green light to consider stepping up asset purchases, or quantitative easing. Today’s Commerce Department report showed that a measure of prices tied to spending advanced 1.7...
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Contributors
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Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
