Talks in Beijing between high-ranking U.S. and Chinese economic officials ended today with both sides claiming progress was made. But China's pledge to allow greater flexibility on the exchange rate of its currency -- a long-standing U.S. demand - was made without any timetable.

The United States and China have agreed to try to redress imbalances in their economic relationship,, which saw China achieve a $200 billion trade surplus last year. Top-level officials met for the past two days in Beijing, and the two countries reaffirmed their common interest in maintaining a stable economic relationship. But, as Roger Wilkison reports for VOA, they did not commit to a timetable, or specific pledges as to how they would deal with the strains that bedevil it.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households, and it remained unchanged for the month of November of 2006

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $368.9 billion, an increase of 1.0 percent (±0.8%) from the previous month and up 5.6 percent (±0.7%) from November 2005.

Weakening US Economy Is Primary Factor; Software Sales Lone Bright Spot

New Microsoft operating system to generate $70 billion in revenue for IT industry and increase jobs in tech industry.

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 132,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job gains continued in several service-providing industries, including professional and business services, food services, and health care. Employment declined in construction and manufacturing.

The Conference Board reports today that the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.2% in October, following a 0.4% increase in September and a 0.3% decrease in August.

Educational policy discourse supports the idea that increases in science and mathematics achievement correlate to nation-wide economic gains. However, a thought-provoking new study from the American Journal of Education challenges the perceived causal links between educational achievement and economic growth.