Some of you think I am being unduly pessimistic. So I am going to borrow from the Wall Street Journal – admittedly something I am loath to do under normal circumstances – and summarize the state of play as expressed in our latest statistics. Here goes: GDP has just gone through six months of gloom. […]

Lest you think we are now into clear water, let me remind you that the economy stinks. That’s technical economics speak for rotten, as in really bad. Nothing in the great debt ceiling debacle changes anything. While we were all distracted by the farce that is American politics, the economy slid slowly towards the precipice. […]