USA Today told readers that Japan is hanging on for now as the world's second largest economy, ahead of China. This is just silly. While Japan does still rank second when its GDP is measured using a currency conversion standard (converting its currency into dollars at the current exchange rate), its economy is only half the size of China's using a purchasing power parity standard. This measure applies the same set of prices to all goods and services.

The Chicago Tribune may have laid off many of their reporters but it still has a Social Security fearmonger position. Greg Burns told readers that: "As of this year, Social Security will be running in the red for the first time in a quarter-century."

The NYT notes the sharp drop in the trade deficit for calendar year 2009 compared to 2008. The falloff in the trade deficit was a striking feature of the downturn. Imports fell by almost than 25 percent year over year. Exports fell nearly as much in percentage terms, but since U.S. exports were only two-thirds as much as imports, this translated into a large improvement in the trade deficit.

Morning Edition reported on Spain's slump this morning. The slump has pushed the unemployment rate into the high teens.

At one point the piece presents the views of an economist who asserts that Spain's fundamentals were sound prior to the downturn. This is not true. Spain had a huge housing bubble that led to a current account deficit that peaked at 10.0 percent of GDP in 2007. It should have been very clear at the time that its fundamentals were enormously unsound, it is remarkable that NPR found an economist who even now does not recognize that Spain's fundamentals were not sound during its housing bubble.

--Dean Baker

Mervyn King, the head of the United Kingdom's central bank, is best known for allowing the UK's housing bubble to expand to a level that was even greater than the bubble in the U.S. At its peak in 2007, house prices in the UK were on average about 10 percent higher than the bubble-inflated prices in the U.S., even though the per capita GDP in the UK is about 10 percent lower. As a result of his failure to check the growth of the bubble, the UK has fallen into a severe downturn, with questionable prospects for a rebound any time soon.

The NYT had an article about rising inflation in China. At one point it notes the government's determination to prevent inflation. It then tells readers that higher inflation may reduce pressure from the U.S. to raise the value of the yuan, since higher inflation in China will make Chinese goods relatively less competitive.

It would have been worth noting that a higher valued yuan would help to reduce inflation in China. It would reduce the price of imports thereby putting downward pressure on the price of domestically produced goods. Also, by reducing China's trade surplus, it would slow China's growth.

--Dean Baker

People making over $225,000 must have it much tougher than the rest of us since the media highlight their problems so frequently. In discussing the housing market and the homebuyers' tax credit USA Today told readers: "Many potential buyers in higher-price markets such as New York, Boston, Hawaii and San Francisco won't qualify because their incomes are too high. Under the income limits, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit."