Unemployment may breach the 9% level, but for folks who still have jobs, they’re having a much easier time getting to work. Freakonomics reports traffic congestion’s down about 30% in 99 of the country’s 100 largest metro areas.
Economy seems to be transitioning away “from a heightened risk of deflation to the absence of that risk,” James Picerno writes at The Capital Spectator. But don’t confuse this transition with immediate inflation.
A couple of volatility indicators are offering mixed signals, Bespoke Investment Group says. The S&P 500′s 50-day moving average is showing daily moves way down from late 2008, but the VIX is creeping up above 30.
Pimco’s Mohamed El-Erian offerstwo conclusions from Ben Bernanke’s congressional testimony, in which the Fed chairman says the US will see economic growth later this year, but it won’t be robust.
