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 Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
The 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
Economy: Trouble Mustering Golf Clap
Photograph by Victor J. Blue/ Bloomberg
Pedestrians carry shopping bags on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Americans Critical of Economic Stewardship — Though Less So
The grades are still low, but they’re better than last year. While Washington policy makers are being blamed for sequestration and the budget impasse, Americans this year are registering improving confidence in their leaders’ ability to “do or to recommend...
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Photograph by Jin Lee/Bloomberg
A job seeker holds his briefcase while waiting to see recruiters at a job fair in New York.
State, Local Gov’ts: Help Wanted
News on the government front isn’t all bad, says Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York. Take today’s Labor Department figures, which showed job openings at state and local government agencies posted the fourth straight monthly gain...
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Photograph by Georges Gobet/AFP via Getty Images
EU Council president Herman Van Rompuy, right, and States Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew arrive to give a press conference following a working session on April 8, 2013 at the EU Headquarters in Brussels.
Lew in Europe: Call Me Jack
Call it diplomatic speed-dating. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, on his first trip to Europe since taking office five weeks ago, is getting to know a lot of the region’s top economic officials very quickly. Lew arrived in Brussels this...
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Photograph by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
People are reflected in the side of a Cigarette boat as they look at boats on display at The Miami International Boat Show.
Consumers: No Hint of Job-Market Slump
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was at minus 34.1 in the week ended March 31, up less than a half point from the prior week as measures of the state of the economy and buying climate improved. What’s been the...
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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 Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
A woman shops at a Quiksilver store in Times Square in New York, on March 12, 2013.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 5.9
That’s how much the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index advanced in the past six weeks. The index, which asks consumers to rate the national economy, their personal finances and the buying climate, rose to minus 31.6 in the week ended March...
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Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Outdoor space heaters wait to be removed by volunteers, employees and contractors from the Service Employees International Union as they work to break down 'The People's Camp' on the National Mall west of the U.S. Capitol.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 13%
That’s the approval rating of Congress, according to a Gallup survey conducted March 7-10. The figure is little changed from a month ago, when Congress had a 15 percent approval rating. The most recent surveys were conducted after automatic budget...
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Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A "now hiring" sign is posted in the window of a Chase bank branch on Jan. 4, 2013 in San Rafael, California.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 50
That’s how many months it’s been since the unemployment rate was lower than February’s 7.7 percent. Last month’s jobless rate was the lowest since December 2008, when the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent and rising amid a deep recession. The...
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Photograph by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
People look at boats on display at The Miami International Boat Show on Feb. 15, 2013 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: -32.8
That’s the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index for the seven-day period ended Feb. 24. The index, based on Americans’ ratings of the national economy, the buying climate and their personal finances, improved to the highest level this year after climbing for...
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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.
