Politics and Government

US GDP shrinks at a 1% rate in Q1.

From Heritage, Stephen Moore writes our GDP report confirms that we now have a $2 trillion Obama growth deficit.

In Bloomberg, Shobhana Chandra reports consumer spending in April unexpectedly declined.

Monetary Reform

Steve Forbes’s new book, Money, on the gold standard draws rave reviews from Ralph Benko, at Forbes.com, calling it the most important economic policy book of 2014.

The New York Sun, calls Steve Forbes the Anti-Picketty for Money.

John Tamny at Forbes.com calls Money excellent

At The American Principles Project, Shane Vander Hart discusses the newly-released archives of the Reagan Gold Commission.

Robert Pringle, in The Money Trap, remembers Jacques Rueff, and highlights Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann’s reference to him in a speech last year.

From Yahoo Finance, British Member of Parliament Kwasi Kwarteng states if you want to balance the budget, go back to the gold standard.

News 24 gives the rise and fall of the gold standard. 

In The NY Times, Binyamin Appelbaum reports on the Fed debate over the end of stimulus.

Reuters reports low financial market volatility has crept onto the list of concerns weighing on Fed officials.

At TGSN, Kathleen Packard examines Poland’s sluggish economic growth.

The Middle Class Squeeze

The World Bank sounds the alarm on rising food prices.

Entrepreneur asks if rising costs could mean the end of craft beer.

MoneyNews says economists are predicting rising inflation this summer.