In the schedule for the coming week, I mentioned that the consensus is for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) to be unchanged in April compared to March. Does this mean PCE might not grow in Q2?

Russell Redenbaugh, a good friend of mine for the past 20 years or so, has been a great source of inspiration. He has triumphed over great adversity—losing his sight and the normal use of his hands—to become a successful investor, a world champion at jiu jitsu, and an influential voice in conservative political circles. I struggled with the loss of my hearing about 10 years ago, but that's nothing compared to what Russell has managed to accomplish.

The key reports this week are the second estimate of Q1 GDP on Thursday, the April Personal Income and Outlays report on Friday, and the Case-Shiller house prices for March on Tuesday. The FDIC will probably release the Q1 Quarterly Banking Profile this week (no scheduled date). ----- Monday, May 27th ----- All US markets will be closed in observance of Memorial Day. ----- Tuesday, May 28th -----

AT FIRST glance, the religion of legal American immigrants over the past 20 years appears unremarkable: the vast majority are Christian. Much fewer are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or identify as “unaffiliated” (which includes atheists and agnostics). But look closer and what emerges is a country in the midst of profound change. The top of the bars show that the share of Christians are falling (from 68% in 1992 to 61% in 2012) while the proportion of Muslims and Hindus have more than doubled (from 5% to 10% and 3% to 7%).