Startling economic numbers from France and Germany, critics of the Obama plan to stimulate the economy through massive deficit spending. Libertarians were early critics of the ‘stimlus’ package of government expansion as a plan, pointing out it would delay economic recovery. Libertarians, backed by most Americans, suggest tax and regulatory relief to boost job creation.
NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) – The euro rose against the dollar for the second straight session on Thursday as data showed the euro zone’s two biggest economies unexpectedly returned to growth in the second quarter of the year.
News that Germany and France pulled out of recession in the April-to-June period contrasted with disappointing U.S. retail sales data for July, which cast a shadow over an anticipated consumer rebound. That weakened the dollar, which also fell 1 percent against the Japanese yen…
…(Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut) said markets also expect the U.S. economy to recover but said the Thursday data was a reminder that "U.S. consumers are still looking at a massive debt burden that won’t go away soon," suggesting a "slow and protracted" recovery…
…None of that dulled investor disappointment with the 0.1 percent slide in U.S .retail sales…Economists polled by Reuters had expected retail sales to rise 0.7 percent in July, partly thanks to a boost from the government’s "cash for clunkers" program that gives consumers money to swap aging gas-guzzling cars for new, more efficient ones. "The decline in the headline number for retail sales, despite much talk of the ‘cash for clunkers’ program, came as a big disappointment," said Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
