Economics Update

I've been saying this for a while, but as I am an engineer, not an economist, dammit,^*, but still, I have to wonder why it's taken so long for the Bank for International Settlements to see that the world economy is in serious trouble, with a possibility of a world wide recession.

When one considers spiking oil prices and a new record for gasoline prices, the news is not going to be good.

Given the dollar's rather unclear future, along with increased Euro-Zone inflation, which implies more rate hikes, and hence downward pressure on the dollar, things are pretty twitchy out there.

The Chicago Purchasing Manager Index is up, to 49.6 from 49.1 last month, but any number below 50 still represents a contraction.

We can wait for tomorrow's Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing survey to get a better picture.

^*I LOVE IT when I get to go all Doctor McCoy!!!