There is more good news this week about changes being made by the private sector of the U.S. economy.  We also update you on Ben Bernanke’s recent testimony before Congress.  We continue to follow news from John Mauldin, who keeps us up-to-date on the status of the European debt crisis.  Finally, we have a link to a YouTube video that does an excellent job of explaining the U.S. budget deficit and its ramifications.

Private Sector Reinvents U.S. Economy – The U. S. economy has heavy burdens to overcome, but presidential candidates appear to be overlooking important good news.  According to the Economist magazine, “Led by its innovated private sector, the economy is remaking itself.  Old weaknesses are being remedied and new strengths discovered, with an agility that has much to teach stagnant Europe and dirigiste Asia.” http://www.economist.com/node/21558576

Ben Bernanke Testifies that the Federal Reserve is Considering An Additional Stimulus For The Economy – The Chairman of the Federal Reserve testified before Congress on July 17th , saying the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will consider additional stimulus when it meets in two weeks.  The discussion in June’s “Minutes to the FOMC” indicates they may be concerned about deflation.  They feel there may be a need for more stimulus if “inflation seems likely to fall persistently below the Fed’s 2% target”.  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-17/bernanke-predicts-slow-progress-on-unemployment.html

Update on European Debt Crisis – John Mauldin has done an excellent job in keeping us up-to-date on the European debt crisis.  His article this week is a good summary of the current situation in Europe. http://advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/millenium_071412.php

The U.S. Budget Dilemma – One of our clients emailed us this link to a YouTube video that does a very good job of explaining the budget deficit and its ramifications here in the U.S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5IdwltaAc&feature=youtu.be

We hope you enjoy reading these articles along with us and that you find them informative.  Please forward this to your friends and family.

John R. Day and Bill W. Ennis