Ring it up: Americans spent at the fastest pace in five months in February, boosting retail spending 1.1% compared with January. About half the jump reflected higher gas prices, but even excluding gas purchases, retail sales rose 0.6%. The report from the Commerce Department today shows that Americans kept spending last month despite higher Social Security taxes that took effect this year. The retail sales report is the government’s first look each month at consumer spending, which drives about 70% of economic activity. More details can be found in the full story here.
Modern diplomacy: House Republicans are sending mixed signals in agreeing to meet with President Barack Obama for talks over the budget impasse, while the president is conceding that a political accommodation may be impossible. On the one hand, many Republicans who long have chided Obama for failing to engage their party on the nation’s biggest problems are applauding his newfound outreach. On the other hand, neither side is backing down from entrenched positions that have prevented deals in the past. The Associated Press has the full story here.
Born to rock the boat: Two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, frustrated by the shortage of visas that keep some of the world’s brightest science and engineering minds from building companies on dry U.S. soil, have hatched a plan to build a startup colony in the Pacific Ocean. Max Marty and Dario Mutabdzija say they plan to park a cruise ship 12 nautical miles off the coast of Northern California in international waters. Foreign-born entrepreneurs would live and work on the ship, building startups within commuting distance of Silicon Valley. They wouldn’t have to get work visas, which are hard to come by. They would just need business tourism visas that would let them ferry back and forth to Silicon Valley once or twice a week. The Los Angeles Times has the story and a rendering of the floating startup here.
