HBO has “Game of Thrones.” In Washington, it’s a game of numbers. Employers added 236,000 workers to payrolls in February after 157,000 a month earlier, showing progress in the labor market that could help President Barack Obama’s approval numbers. The...
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Photograph by Ty Wright/Bloomberg
Employees install furniture and wiring in pontoon boats in Elkhart, Indiana.
Washington Daybook: 7.7 Percent
Photograph by Spencer Platt / Getty Images
A trader on the floor of The New York Stock Exchange on March 5, 2013. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied to a record high on Tuesday to close for the day at 14,253.77, beating its old 2007 record.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 65
That’s how many months it took for the Dow Jones Industrial Averageto top its previous closing record. The Dow, a price-weighted average of 30 blue-chip stocks, rose 125.95 points to close yesterday at 14,253.77, rising above the previous closing...
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Photograph by Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images
President Barack Obama listens to Japan's new conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Feb. 22, 2013.
Comparing Central Banks to Medieval Bloodletter
With Jeff Kearns The Federal Reserve’s zero-interest-rate policy has inspired plenty of criticism from investors, who say low rates punish savers and risk inflation. But comparing Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other central bankers to a medieval barber played...
Read more »Real Hearings, Real Debate for ’14 Budget?
Can regular order make a comeback? Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski said she’s working with her counterpart in the House to come up with a strategy for going into the next fiscal year without the need for a continuing...
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Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
A customer loads a television in San Francisco.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: -36.3
That’s the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index for the week ended Feb. 3. The index — which measures consumers’ opinions about the national economy, the buying climate and their personal finances — rose from minus 37.5 a week earlier, marking the first...
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Photograph by Paul Sancya/AP Photo
Job seekers at a job fair in Southfield, Michigan.
White House Warns of ‘Self-Inflicted’ Wounds for a Recovering Economy
The White House is taking today’s employment report as a sign that the economy is healing from “the wounds inflicted” by the worst downturn since the Great Depression, while warning Congress against creating any “self-inflicted wounds.” Such as the looming...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Contractors lay down flooring at a construction site in Lorton, Virginia.
Obama’s Economy: Timing Everything
Timing is everything. Before Election Day, it was reported that the nation’s unemployment fell below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years. After Inauguration Day, it’s reported that the economy contracted, with the nation’s gross domestic product...
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Photograph by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray in this file photo.
Washington’s Mayor Sees Bright Side
Washington Mayor Vincent Gray, who is under investigation for allegations of misusing campaign funds, was upbeat and optimistic about his tenure over lunch at the Georgetown Ritz Carlton. Gray was the guest and interview subject of Washingtonian editor-at-large Carol Joynt...
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Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A "now hiring" sign at a Chase bank branch in San Rafael, California.
Unemployment 8% Mid-January: Gallup
When it comes to work, there are indicators and then there are indicators. The Labor Department won’t report on the state of the U.S. job market this month until the first Friday in February. Gallup, which conducts its own survey...
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Photograph by Ty Wright/Bloomberg
An employee grinds down the metal on an oil tank in Bremen, Ohio.
Election-Year Closing: 7.8% Jobless
The election year closed with a jobless rate under 8 percent, a four-year low. The dip below 8 percent just before President Barack Obama’s re-election helped fulfill the White House’s narrative of a reviving economy, albeit a slow recovery. The...
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Contributors
-
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.
