While some hope of a miracle occurring in the coming months remains, so does the question of whether the new Slovenian government is willing to invest enough political capital to push through the necessary reforms before the capital markets decide to lock Slovenia out once again.

* First-quarter growth accelerates at 2.5 percent rate * Inventories, consumer spending boost growth * Business spending on equipment, software ...

Is growth in GDP really the best way to judge how the economy is doing? What does GDP actually tell us, and what does it leave out? Can an economy be growing and still be on its way off the rails?

Fear of debt is woven deeply into our culture. We associate debt with profligate spending, waste, gambling and overall sinfulness. As we learned during the housing bubble, it's easy to get in over our heads. So naturally we assume that the same must be true for our country -- government debt must be bad. But is it?

The 2008-09 global economic crisis pushed public debt ratios of advanced economies to levels never seen before during peacetime. These high debt levels expose countries to a loss of market confidence and, ultimately, damage long-term growth prospects.

For investors worried about the impact of the spill on Exxon's share price, the truth is that there are macro market trends that could impact the price even more than the oil spill. Exxon is trading at an annual high, largely because the Dow has posted an 11 percent gain already in 2013.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster but still anemic rate at the end of last year. However, there is hope that growth accel...

Let's face it. Everybody loves cheap energy. Almost all human activities require energy consumption and, if something is so basic, it seems pretty obv...

The goal of continued stability -- and certainly the hope for more broadly shared growth -- cannot be taken lightly. Everybody I spoke to in Algiers agreed the country needs a more open and diverse economy to create a bigger pie, and to ensure that all Algerians get their fair share in it.

For more than a generation the U.S. has been testing a self-destructive theory whereby we export enormous amounts of American capital, priceless technology and millions of jobs to other nations naively expecting them to reciprocate.

The problem with historical average of revenues and outlays as shares of GDP as a guide toward the future is obvious: there have been fundamental changes in our society and economy that make it an unreliable benchmark going forward.

These imperatives do not appear to be materializing as a result of aggressive monetary policy. Even so, Bernanke & Co. charge relentlessly ahead on their chosen course. We can only hope they know what they are doing.

If we don't invest today, there will be nothing to build a foundation on going forward. The good news is that investment appears to be coming back.