As the tension in the Middle East grows, the oil price grows too and so the price of gasoline at the pump. We really don’t need that when the economy is still in slow mode recovery. The morning started with some not-so-good news like the rise in oil prices, the fact that the Ministers of Finance in Europe postponed their meeting to approve the Greek measures, and the news that the economy in the Eurozone contracted 0.3% in the last trimester of 2012. Despite that, the markets in Asia and Europe are up and so are the futures in the US. During an interview in the morning, the Governor of the Bank of England said that the Europeans have to act fast to avoid chaos, and that nobody is prepared for a Greek default. England’s economy contracted 0.2% in the last trimester of 2011.
Back to the United States the good news is the possibility that the congress approve the extension on payroll tax cut , which would leave more money in the hands of about 160 millions of Americans.