Top business stories of 2014: U.S. grows, world slows

Sure, when the Federal Reserve prints trillions of dollars and uses it to prop up the stock market and create negative interest rates.

Yes the US is finally growing despite and inspite of the Democrat party taking power in 2006 and causing the great recession. Today the American people have yet again put up with and absorbed the incompetent parasite political class. Part of this is because the US economy is still mostly capitalist and properly disconnected from being a political system.

Regardless of the problems in the US, the fact is the US economy did hold out against the political games in the rest of the world.

Perhaps one day the rest of the world will take the blinders off, remove the ridiculous nonsense they have always done, feudalism, despotism, socialism, progressive and Aristocratic like elites running their economy and at least setup a US style economy and catch up to the current century.

At least the world should admit the US does economy the best at the moment, sure it could be improved But at least start with the same economy and then improve.

Though the only issues with capitalism would be freeloaders using government to scam for themselves.

Incidentally raising minimum wages and the fed printing money are a drag on the economy. It is simply people again producing more than the effect of government greed and the years of government gridlock preventing the politicians from doing more damage.

If we are growing, then great. However, there is just so much debt in America.

"Incidentally raising minimum wages and the fed printing money are a drag on the economy."

Not sure where you're getting your information. First off, since the deep recession began about 7-8 years ago the minimum wage basically hasn't changed. It's only recently been raised in a very few cities and states. Second, the Fed had to make a choice, tighten money policy in a near depression situation or stimulate. They chose the latter as the lesser evil. As the article states, that was the wisest decision.

I don't believe all this wonderful news about the US economy! There's a saying that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I expect the American dollar and stock exchanges are going to suffer a huge correction in the coming year. If people are holding American dollars, now is the high time to spend them on things of real intrinsic value that will help get you through a prolonged economic downturn, including buying gold and silver at the present deep discounted value.

Like Mark Twain said: "There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics."

Right on United States of America! I knew you could do it!

"America is growing but the rest of the world isn't. " sounds like a propaganda piece dreampt up by North Korea. I'm still wondering if the West is out of the woods yet or is this just disinformation to hide the EU and America's malaise.

"If people are holding American dollars, now is the high time to spend them on things of real intrinsic value that will help get you through a prolonged economic downturn"

I'll have to tell this millionaire I know he's making a big mistake buying dollars...

I don't believe all this wonderful news about the US economy! There's a saying that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I expect the American dollar and stock exchanges are going to suffer a huge correction in the coming year. If people are holding American dollars, now is the high time to spend them on things of real intrinsic value that will help get you through a prolonged economic downturn, including buying gold and silver at the present deep discounted value.

I would much rather have dollars than yen or euros. I too expect large "corrections" to occur, stock markets around the world have been fueled by easy central bank money, and not by strong economic performance or growing GDP. But when the correction does occur, America will be the first to recover, due to it's material, agricultural, and energy resources. I don't want to be holding yen or euros when that day comes.

I'd still just rather stick to precious metals and foreign stocks than hold any Western currency. I believe that Japan's economic growth is either being sterilized or severely under-reported. I also believe that countries are weakening their currencies in expectation of more dollar weakness due to currency debasement or another bubble of some sort.

I have gone broke being a pessimist this year. Gold, oil, some short protection have all hurt me real bad. and the few stocks i have bought have either tanked or done nothing. i still think we will see oil back at 80 to 100 in 20125 and the yen at 150 to the dollar........ Euro wwho knows. but this edifiice built on funny money has to come crashing down sometime.

2015 for oil 20125 there will be none left.....

. They chose the latter as the lesser evil. As the article states, that was the wisest decision.

That is arguable. Shortly after the great depression hit, the economy began to recover, the worst of the collapse occurred after the government intervened. Many economists believed that when people expected the government to begin bailing out the economy there was less personal incentive for people to bail themselves out. America's economy was never collective before the depression, it was based on individual labor, innovation, and simple greed, with the underlying foundation of necessity. When there are no "safety nets" to catch you if you fall, you take extreme care not to fall.

We are unwise when we allow our government to have so much control over our national economy. We know from long experience that government is by far the poorest manager of finances. Any person who spends three dollars for each dollar he owns is considered foolish or stupid, but when our governments do the same thing, no one seems to care. But this is foolishness and stupidity on a grand scale because of the vast amounts involved, and the fact that it is our money they are spending.

I don't believe all this wonderful news about the US economy! There's a saying that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I expect the American dollar and stock exchanges are going to suffer a huge correction in the coming year. If people are holding American dollars, now is the high time to spend them on things of real intrinsic value that will help get you through a prolonged economic downturn, including buying gold and silver at the present deep discounted value.

Ruble for you all the way, then, comrade?

I don't believe all this wonderful news about the US economy!

You wouldn't happen to be a Republican or a Tea Partier would you? Nothing like a personal opinion to trump facts!

I'm basically right of center. I just don't trust politicians to be anything other than self-serving liars. They'll tell the public one thing while the complete opposite is true. With at least one-third of Americans still on welfare I'm still a pessimist when it comes to America and the West (this includes Russia, IMHO).