10 most polluted cities

Despite improvements in air quality, four in 10 Americans still live where pollution levels are often dangerous to breathe. Since the American Lung Association began studying particle pollution, almost all of the most polluted cities have consistently remained among the worst.

U.S. oil production climbed to the highest level in 20 years as improved drilling techniques boosted exploration across the country and reinforced a shift toward energy independence. Output rose 0.6 percent to 7.04 million barrels a day in the week ended Jan. 11, the Energy Information Administration reported today, the highest level since January 1993. The nation met 83 percent of its energy needs in the first nine months of 2012, which would be the highest annual rate since 1991, according to EIA data.

Via Jefferies, the global investment banking firm, here are the most polluted cities in the world, by continent. They are ranked according to their annual average levels of airborne particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM-10). These tiny particles are the most likely to cause adverse health effects on the respiratory system, including asthma and trouble breathing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that yearly averages not exceed 50 micrograms per square meter (ug/m3). 

If there is one admirable thing about the Case Shiller Home Price Index report (which sadly shows data for February so a nearly three month delay) is that even according to its authors, it is the Non-Seasonally Adjusted number that is representative of what is going on in housing. And, as the chart below shows, very little is going on as the broader price level continues to undulate in a very tight range with little real moves to the up or downside.

By Mark J. Perry: From today's housing report from the National Association of Realtors:

WASHINGTON — U.S. new-home sales jumped in January from the previous month to the highest level since July 2008, a sign that the housing recovery is accelerating. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that new-home sales rose nearly 16% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000. The percentage increase was the largest in nearly 20 years. And December’s sales were revised higher to 378,000 from 369,000.

NEW YORK — Economists are increasingly, but still cautiously, optimistic about growth in the year ahead with the hiring expected to pick up in coming months. A quarterly survey by the National Association for Business Economists released Monday shows half of the economists polled now expect real gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services produced in the United States — to grow between 2 and 4 percent in 2013. That’s up from 36 percent of respondents who felt the same way three months earlier.