Economic recovery in Europe: Rhetoric and reality: Politicians, economists and sections of the media in Germany and France are speaking euphorically of an end to the recession: here.
Gordon Brown wanted to know why Britain was unfair – so he asked a debt collector. The PM wanted to do something about the shocking fact that 10 years of Labour government have left a “persistently unequal society” – in some ways a more unequal society than the one inherited from the Tories: here.
Fat-cat City executives have reacted with horror to Gordon Brown’s mild criticism of bankers’ extravagant bonuses: here.
May 2009 set the sixth consecutive monthly record in food stamp use in the US, with 34.4 million Americans relying on federal assistance to feed themselves: here.
In a regulatory filing Monday, American International Group (AIG) disclosed that its new CEO, Robert H. Benmosche, will be paid at least $7 million a year: here.
A US Commerce Department official has predicted that one in seven US citizens could soon be living below the official poverty line: here.
The US census for 2008, to be released in September, will show a sharp increase in poverty. Meanwhile, this week saw unexpectedly high weekly jobless claims, a rash of mass layoffs, and a record-high foreclosure rate: here.
See also here.