Another 467,000 workers became unemployed in June, sending unemployment to 14.7 million and the unemployment rate to 9.5%. Since the recession began in December 2007, 7.2 million workers have become unemployed. Over half (4.4 million) have been unemployed for over two years.

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China insists on using its growing economic clout to replace the dollar a new global currency. China is right to be alarmed at the dollar's drop in value, down 11% since March. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, and it just saw its investment deteriorate.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has increased regulations on money market funds. The agency seeks to require money market funds hold more liquid assets. This will allow them to sell their holdings quickly in case of sudden withdrawals, thus protecting the value of your investments in money market funds. Read more...

The BEA final report revised the U.S. GDP growth rate for Q1 2009 to -5.5%. This is better than the 5.7% decline reported in the preliminary report. However, this is still the third declining quarter in a row, and the fourth since the recession began in Q4 2007. The slowdown in Q1 was less than the 6.3% drop in Q4 2008. This is the first time since the Great Depression that GDP fell more than 5% for two quarters in a row. The silver lining is that a large contributor to the decline was a decrease of business inventories. This means that inventories are getting lean, potentially boosting production next quarter if orders hold steady. (Source: GDP News Release)

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