| August 10, 2011 |
| Government Credit Downgrade |
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's, a credit rating agency, downgraded U.S. government debt from its AAA rating to AA+. The other two rating agencies, Fitch and Moody's, kept U.S. government debt at the highest rating. It is impossible to predict the long-term consequences of this development, but in the short-term, Treasury bond prices decreased, indicating investors may not agree with Standard & Poor's decision.
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| March 04, 2011 |
| Unemployment Drops |
| In February, 192,000 more jobs were created and unemployment dropped below 9% to 8.9%. The public sector is continuing to shed jobs, and lost 30,000 for the month. Thankfully, the private sector is picking up the slack, growing by 220,000 for the month. As more people enter the work force, they will spend more money and help create more jobs. This will hopefully create a spiraling effect, leading to even faster job creation in the future. |
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| March 01, 2011 |
| Higher Oil Prices |
| Oil crossed over $100 a barrel because of political turmoil in Libya and the rest of the Middle East. Despite Saudi Arabian promises to export more oil to compensate for declining production in Libya, oil prices have continued to rise. The stock market has fallen as a result, because it is feared that high oil costs may slow down our economic recovery. |
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