Warren Buffett said natural disasters are a greater economic threat than terrorism. Is the Sage of Omaha right?
The BEA's kept their second estimate of GDP for the first quarter (January-March) 2011 at 1.8%. There was no change from the advance estimate made a month ago. This was down from the Q4 2010 growth rate of 3.1%. It's also a little lower than the ideal GDP growth rate of 2%, and certainly less than the 3% or more needed to substantially reduce unemployment.
The most important leading economic indicator, manufacturers' orders for durable goods, was down 2.13% in April, when compared year-over-year. This is the first drop in orders for things like computers, autos and machinery in the last 16 months. However, a one-month decline has happened in prior post-recession periods, and doesn't necessarily mean the start of a new trend.
Why did durable goods orders drop?
As econo-blogger Mark Thoma explains:
Recent data provided by the nation's largest health insurance companies reveals that a provision of the Affordable Care Act - or Obamacare - is bringing big numbers of the uninsured into the health care insurance system. And they are precisely the uninsured that we want- the young people who tend not to get sick.
Why is that, and how it does it help the economy recover? Read More...
Volcanic clouds and ash from this weekend's volcanic eruption in Iceland threatens air traffic in Scotland, France, Spain and other hubs in the northern EU. Scottish regional airline Loganair has already canceled 36 flights to avoid a high-density cloud of ash. However, experts say the Grimsvotn volcano won't be as destructive as last year's eruption, which closed European airports for six days.
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