The numbers for August 27, 2013: Known unknowns

09/XX/2013

The ‘XX’ represents the fact that we actually don’t know the date the U.S. Treasury is going to run out of money. But the rhetoric is heating up in Washington over what we’re going to do about raising the debt ceiling. (NYT)

81.5

If you ask an economist, that’s what she’d tell you if you asked how confident the American consumer is. What does that mean? Well, for one thing, that’s stronger than last month, and stronger than expected. (Bloomberg)