Editor's Choice: Week of June 1, 2009

Good news, bad news. It turns out the economy only shrank at an annual rate of 5.7% in the first quarter, not the preliminary estimate of 6.1%, the Commerce Department reported on May 29, but the FDIC’s Sheila Bair said May 27 that the U.S. banking industry “still faces tremendous challenges,” and that “asset quality remains a further concern” upon the release of its Quarterly Banking Profile Perhaps Treasury Secretary Geithner didn’t read the report; as he arrived in China May 31, he proclaimed that the U.S. financial system “is in substantially better shape.”

Major reports this week include May retail sales numbers on June 4, and May unemployment figures on June 5.