Rather than discuss the implications of the economic news from this week, I'll point you to Bill McBride's summary for the week ending November 18 (Bill McBride maintains the site, calculated risk). The news for the US economy was generally pretty good, indicating slightly faster economic growth and slightly lower inflation (a nice combination!).
When it comes to thoughtful analysis of the big picture, it's hard to beat Mohamed El-Erian of PIMCO. He wrote an article for project syndicate yesterday that examines the "Anatomy of Global Economic Uncertainty." He highlights the role of four interrelated dynamics (1) the need for many governments to get their balance sheets in order; (2) the need for structural reform to promote economic growth; (3) the need for inclusive growth that doesn't worsen income inequality; and (4) the lack of leadership in addressing the changing economic dynamics.
On a more lighthearted note, here's a link to a video from the Daily Show in which a Labor Economist from the University of Texas (Daniel Hamermesh) discusses his research on discrimination against ugly people (the link is from Greg Mankiw's blog).
