March Madness

The whole world’s going nuts, but events are strangely conspiring to drive business to the U.S. I was still basking in the uplifting e-mails I reported in “February Readers Respond.” It was generally positive stuff, and basically consistent with numbers I was seeing. Except for the part where the whole world started going on “Tilt.”…

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Landmark Events: Libyan Violence Escalates

Anti-government protests across North Africa and the Middle East saw the first major escalation of violence today. International forces are now involved. As Muammar Qaddafi rolled toward a crushing victory over Libyan rebels, the United Nations Security Council pondered, then passed a resolution authorizing the use of force to protect whatever Libyan civilians might still…

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Food and Energy

Look at it this way: If rising prices include an indication of demand, wouldn’t that also point to where jobs are being created? If you don’t need to eat and you don’t care to do anything, you’re in pretty good shape. Otherwise, the Producer Price Index is here to tell you what you already know:…

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Landmark Events: Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Disaster

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan on March 11, triggering a tsunami that pushed more than 12 miles inland, crippling four nuclear reactors in Fukushima. In Tokyo, Japan’s famous tremor resistant architecture survived repeated high magnitude aftershocks. It was the tsunami along the northern coast that was most devastating. Destruction from fast moving ocean waters…

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