SECULARISM ISN'T WORKING (via mc):

French finance minister quits: Unemployment rate rises to 10% in January (Emily Church, Feb. 25, 2005, MarketWatch)

French Finance Minister Herve Gaymard resigned on Friday after less than three months on the job amid a scandal over his taxpayer-funded Parisian apartment and as the French unemployment rate rose to 10 percent.

His resignation, which had been anticipated as concerns grew over his 14,000 euros-a-month ($18,500) a month apartment, came on the day France joined Germany with the dubious distinction of an unemployment rate at double-digit percentage levels.

French unemployment lifted to a five-year high of 10 percent in January, up from 9.9 percent in December, the Insee statistics agency said. Economists had projected the jobless rate to hold steady at 9.9 percent.

The German jobless rate in January rose to 11.4 percent, a post-war high.

U.S. Q4 GDP stronger than first estimated (Greg Robb, 25, 2005, MarketWatch)

The U.S. economy grew at a 3.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, stronger than the 3.1 percent estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

And Fred Kaplan and company wonder why W didn't drink up their wisdom?

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 25, 2005 8:13 AM