The nation's economy "expanded at a measured pace" in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve Board reports in its latest anecdotal look at how things are going across the U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned again that driving off the fiscal cliff could be detrimental to the U.S. economy. However, if a grand bargain is reached by politicians in Washington, Bernanke said during a speech a the Economic Club of New York, it could be a good new year for the U.S.
A life well-worth noting has caught the attention of obituary writers:
-- "Andrew F. Brimmer, a Louisiana sharecropper's son who was the first black member of the Federal Reserve Board and who led efforts to to reverse the country's balance-of-payments deficit, died on Sunday in Washington. He was 86." (The New York Times)