Key Events This Week: PMIs, Productivity And Consumer Sentiment

Israeli Forces Raise Flag Over Syrian Town In Latest Raid: 'Provocative Act' Authored by Jason Ditz via AntiWar.com, Israeli military vehicles rolled into the town of Hadr in Syria’s Quneitra Governorate days ago and raised the Israeli flag over the town's entrance. Locals say they also closed all but one road leading into or out of the town, and established a checkpoint on that road as well. Though Israel routinely raids Quneitra's towns and villages of late, raising the Israeli government's flag over a town is more provocative than what usually happens in...

As the economy faulters, socialists are getting elected, promising free goods and services and an end to the chaos. Even when they make things worse, however, they will still gain political power.

Conference Board Consumer Expectations Hit YTD Highs, Inflation Fears Dip In May With war (and rising gas prices) now fully embedded in respondents' minds (along with record high stock prices), it is perhaps not entirely surprising that The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence dipped in May (but was better than expected). The headline index dipped 0.7 points to 93.1 in May, down from an upwardly revised 93.8 in April. The Present Situation Index - based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions - retreated by 3.2 points to 121.2. The Expectations Index -...