Economics and Investing:

Note the fait accompli tone of this NPR article that of course inevitably leads to the conclusion that there will be either massive tax increases, or mass inflation in the near future: The Federal Debt: How To Lose A Trillion Dollars. (Thanks to Gedan for the link.)

Frequent content contributor Chad S. flagged this important article over at Zero Hedge: Treasury Redeems A Gargantuan $643 Billion in Treasuries in April.

Want a good belly laugh? If so, then read this item from Chad S.: Corporations ride a consumer spending spree to better earnings as recovery gains steam. Here is Chad’s favorite absurd quote from the article: “We¹re out of the woods for good, says Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. This is no just an arithmetic story. It¹s a story of legitimate growth.” JWR Adds: All this “recovery” talk at present is utter nonsense, triggered by short term stimulus money. The end result will be no real recovery and mountains of compounding debt.

Also from Chad comes this more realistic piece: European debt crisis looms over meeting.

Items from The Economatrix:

Another Look at Derivatives

Goldman Whack-A-Mole

Roubini: In a Few Days’ Time There Might Not be a Eurozone for Us to Discuss

US Food Inflation Spiraling Out of Control

Rising Federal Debt Found to Cause Alien Intestinal Syndrome (The Mogambo Guru)

The Dominoes are Lining Up for a Sovereign Debt Crisis

More Friday Follies: Banks Closed in Puerto Rico, Michigan, Missouri, Washington

GDP Rise Not Enough to Make Dent in Jobless Rate