Economy: The recovery picks up speed
Optimism over the economy’s recovery surged last week, after the Labor Department issued a stronger-than-expected jobs report, said Nin-Hai Tseng in Fortune. The economy added 236,000 new jobs in February—far more than the predicted 165,000. The spate of new hiring lowered the nation’s unemployment rate to 7.7 percent, its lowest level since 2008. Other factors—including rising wages, workweek hours, and home prices, sales, and construction—have reinforced hopes “that this isn’t just a blip.” New figures from the Commerce Department showed a rise in retail sales and consumer spending, despite higher payroll taxes, while stock markets rallied to record-high levels.
But with budget cuts looming, the surprisingly strong economic data may not say much about the economy’s long-term prospects, said Frank James in NPR.org. The new figures could be a double-edged sword for President Obama, who has warned Americans about the consequences of $85 billion in sequester cuts, including the loss of 750,000 jobs by the end of this year. The strong economic reports “could make his task of convincing Republicans that the economy is being harmed” by spending cuts much tougher. And since unemployment figures are typically lagging indicators of economic health, it may still be too soon to tell how hard the sequester will hit.
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Retail: Whole Foods to label GM items
Whole Foods said it would label all products that contain genetically modified ingredients in its North American stores within five years, said Stephanie Strom in The New York Times. The Austin-based chain is the first national grocer to set a deadline for labeling foods that contain such common GM ingredients as corn syrup and soybean oil. Such labeling is already required in Europe, but several trade groups have opposed it here, claiming that mandatory labeling would only “mislead consumers” over ingredients that regulators have deemed safe.
Regulators: Smooth sailing for SEC nominee
Mary Jo White, the Obama administration’s choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, faced little opposition this week during her Senate confirmation hearing, said Dina ElBoghdady in The Washington Post. “The hearing was a letdown for anyone expecting fireworks” during the vetting of the former federal prosecutor. Though White defended several high-profile Wall Street figures in private practice, she vowed to be tough on financial crime and said she would “work as zealously as is possible” on behalf of the American public. “At the SEC,” she added, “there’s no institution too big to charge.”
Tech: Google fined for Street View violations
Google admitted this week that it had violated people’s privacy by collecting passwords and personal data during its Street View mapping project, said David Streitfeld in The New York Times. The admission came in a case brought by 38 states. The settlement orders the tech giant to pay out “a tiny—for Google—fine of $7 million” and requires it to more “aggressively police its own employees on privacy issues.”
Airlines: Regulators okay plan to fix Dreamliner
Boeing’s Dreamliner nightmare may be nearly over, said CNN.com. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the plane-maker’s proposal for fixing the battery problems that led to a global grounding of its flagship model. “The certification plan is the first step in the process to evaluate the 787’s return to flight and requires Boeing to conduct extensive testing and analysis,” the FAA said. The fixes involve redesigning the plane’s lithium-ion battery systems to minimize the chance of a short circuit or overheating. In a statement, a Boeing executive said the company has “a great deal of confidence in our solution set and the process for certifying it.”
