In a new report, education experts pointed to a record drop in preschool state funding of more than half a billion dollars in the 2011-2012 school year from the prior year. Also, for the first time in a decade the percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled did not grow. Today’s graphic shows the percentage enrolled, enrollment by program, ranking by state and spending per child for preschools in the US.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a 2.5% annual rate after growth nearly stalled at 0.4% in the fourth quarter. The increase, however, missed economists’ expectations for a 3.0% growth pace. Today’s graphic breaks down GDP and tracks the changes over the last four years.

India’s 2013 monsoon season is predicted to be normal this year, but even normal monsoon seasons can leave many regions facing droughts while others get plentiful rainfall. A drought this year could trigger mass migration to cities like Mumbai as families seek jobs and water. It would also affect crops, diminishing farm incomes and thus reducing economic growth in the area. Today’s graphic tracks the last 100 years of rainfall in India.

22 Apr 2013Thomson Reuters

Join Thomson Reuters for the “2013 Thomson Reuters Outlook for Eurozone Government Bond Markets” Roundtable. The current range and diversity of global macroeconomic and geopolitical event-risk factors on the medium-term horizon suggest 2013 and beyond could see periods of uncertainty and volatility; how investors are looking to take positions in Eurozone government bond and related markets amid this uncertainty will form the broad focus for the roundtable.

Featuring roundtable panelists from several major financial firms and moderated by Keith Mullin, Editor-at-Large, IFR, the roundtable will analyse and evaluate the relevant global themes and provide insight and guidance for investors, sales, trading, and capital markets professionals seeking to advise on or take positions in the European rates market.

The roundtable will include: (more…)

Fitch stripped Britain of its top-grade AAA rating on Friday, but unlike rival Moody’s – which did the same in February – it gave the new rating a stable outlook. Today’s graphic shows the long-term sovereign debt ratings for Britain, the US, Japan and the rest of the euro zone.

17 Apr 2013Thomson Reuters

On April 1, 118 guests crowded into a meeting room at the top of 3 Times Square to hear two high-profile financial authorities debate their widely differing views with Reuters Editor-at-Large Sir Harold Evans as moderator.

The debaters: (more…)

With housing starts at their highest level since 2008, Moody’s Analytics Celia Chen explains why despite recent setbacks, housing remains the foundation for the economic recovery. Bobbi Rebell reports.

First-quarter growth of 7.7 percent is even more disappointing given the 58 percent increase in financing shoveled into the economy over the same period says Breakingviews.

Watch more Breakingviews episodes.

Reynolds Holding and Breakingviews columnists talk strong U.S. auto sales and what they say about housing and the broader economy.

Watch more Breakingviews episodes.

03 Apr 2013Thomson Reuters

After Africa’s rebound from the global economic crisis and the uprisings in North Africa, what are the risks and the opportunities of investing in the continent today?

Written off as a hopeless continent a little over a decade ago, Africa is now proving the pessimists wrong, as growing consumer spending and a rising middle class transform the region. The boom in several industries, particularly telecoms and banking, has drawn much attention from investors. But how sustainable is Africa’s rise? The world’s poorest continent still faces plenty of challenges: an over-reliance on commodity exports, woeful infrastructure and endemic corruption in many countries.

Africa’s considerable opportunities and challenges will be examined at the Reuters Africa Investment Summit on April 8-11, when during closed sessions Reuters reporters in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Lagos will be interviewing top newsmakers from across the continent. (more…)