Morning Journal - Elmo explains the national debt

Economics
This Week’s Data

Weekly jobless claims rose 6,000 versus expectations of a 10,000 decline.
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/04/weekly-initial-unemployment-claims-at.html

Other

Fed policy again looks to be a day late (short):
http://scottgrannis.blogspot.com/2012/04/understanding-risks-of-fed-policy.html

Politics
Domestic

The GSA is guilty of more than just throwing a party at taxpayer expense (medium):
http://michellemalkin.com/2012/04/18/the-real-gsa-scandal-job-killing-big-labor-payoffs/

How crony capitalism develops (medium):
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-crony-capitalism-and-expansive-central-state

Elmo explains the national debt (short):
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/keynes-muppets-elmo-explains-national-debt

News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

More earnings reports:

Reported Expected

Qualcomm $1.01 $.96
Phillip Morris Int’l 1.25 1.20

Steve Cook received his education in investments from Harvard, where he earned an MBA, New York University, where he did post graduate work in economics and financial analysis and the CFA Institute, where he earned the Chartered Financial Analysts designation in 1973. His 40 years of investment experience includes institutional portfolio management at Scudder, Stevens and Clark and Bear Stearns. Steve's goal at Strategic Stock Investments is to help other investors build wealth and benefit from the investing lessons he learned the hard way.