From Reuters:
U.S. employment recorded a second straight month of solid gains in March and the jobless rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent, underscoring a decisive shift in the labor market that should help to underpin the economic recovery.
Dispatches (XI): Walker Administration Interprets the Law
With update, wherein the Walker Administration complies with the third temporary restraining order.
From the Wisconsin State Journal:
State officials say they will move forward with Wisconsin’s controversial collective bargaining law, despite a judge’s order barring its implementation — and a threat of sanctions against anyone who violates it.
Exports, Growth Prospects and Rebalancing
Exports in Context
Anybody who follows forecasts of GDP growth for 2011Q1 will notice that over time, estimates have been revised down (this is true for Macroeconomic Advisers, for instance). The dimmed prospects for GDP growth throws in high relief the importance of net exports. From the WSJ, “Foreign Shocks Temper America’s Export-Led Rebound”:
Consumption spending slowing down
Guess what: rising energy prices are taking a toll on consumers.
Update on Japan
A few quick links:
- Toll of dead and missing is in the tens of thousands, with hundreds of thousands still in temporary shelters.
- Dangerous reactor situation persists as evacuation area broadened.
- Automakers face supply problems.
- Impressive photos of rapid road repair.
- Hideaki Akaiwa: a hero’s epic told in a modern style.
Bloggers Beware! (If You Work at a State University in Wisconsin)
From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The Republican Party of Wisconsin has made an open records request for the emails of a University of Wisconsin professor of history, geography and environmental studies in an apparent response to a blog post the professor wrote about a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
“Renminbi Going Global”
That’s the title of a new working paper by Xiaoli Chen (Shandong University) and Yin-Wong Cheung (UCSC). Readers might recognize Cheung as a co-author with G. Ma and R. McCauley on a 2010 BIS paper, discussed in this May 2010 Econbrowser post, and just published in Pacific Economic Review. For anybody who is interested in the latest developments in the Chinese government’s attempts to internationalize the Renminbi, this is essential reading. From the summary of the paper.
Commodity prices in pictures
A few graphs I found interesting.
National Journal: Ag Committee Supports Cuts to Food Assistance, Not Farm Subsidies
From National Journal (h/t Ezra Klein):
The House Agriculture Committee endorsed a letter this week to Budget Chairman Paul Ryan arguing that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps low-income Americans purchase food, would make a better target for cuts than automatic subsidies to farms.
Musing about Shocks and Trends in an Era of Production Fragmentation
Yesterday’s NYT article, Crises in Japan Ripple Across the Global Economy noted:
In the wake of Japan’s cascading disasters, signs of economic loss can be found in many corners of the globe, from Sendai, on the battered Japanese coast, to Paris to Marion, Ark.