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This post was originally published at A Fistful of Euros.
“Doom-mongers” – the Economist tells us – “are licking their wounds”. And why exactly are they licking their wounds? Well for two years now (apparently) they have been telling us that “the struggle to save the lat’s peg to the euro was bound to end in [...]

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The Department of Labor reports:

In the week ending Feb. 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 496,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 474,000. The 4-week moving average was 473,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 467,750.

Bloomberg said economists had predicted 460,000. [...]

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Also see Greece in turmoil over austerity from the FT.

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This is just in from the FT:
Germany recorded a budget deficit of 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product last year, one point more than the most recent forecasts, but still well below the level for most of Europe’s larger economies.
According to the figures released by the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday, it is the [...]

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This came in via the U.S. Department of Labor early this morning:

In the week ending Feb. 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 473,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 442,000. The 4-week moving average was 467,500, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average [...]

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I will be away all week, so I will have a number of guest contributions in that time. Here is a great one from John Mauldin, who I frequently publish.  At the bottom is a blurb on how to subscribe to his newsletter.  It is worth it.
Edward
P.S. – Note the ode  in this post [...]

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This is a post by Edward Hugh, who also blogs at Global Economy Matters.

“If you don’t fully understand an instrument, don’t buy it.”
To the above advice from Emilio Botín, Executive Chairman of Spain’s Grupo Santander, I would simply add one small rider: Don’t sell it either, especially if you are a national government trying to [...]

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Edward Hugh here.
Well, I may say there were no surprises, but in fact the Greek economy contracted more than many observers expected in the fourth quarter, while downward revisions to the rest of 2009 converted the present recession into the country’s worst since 1987. Evidently the latest numbers offer the first warning that all may [...]

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Claus Vistesen here with a first post on Credit Writedowns.
GDP releases are, by their very nature, lagging indicators and thus do not tell us a whole lot about the current momentum in an economy. Moreover, the immediate focus of attention in the Eurozone remains, and rightly so, the situation in Greece (and Spain), and what [...]