By now everybody knows that US economy is faltering.   There were clear signs yesterday in the auto sales numbers

Ford’s US sales down 14 percent in March

GM March U.S. sales fall an adjusted 13 percent
GM Blames Consumer Confidence

Toyota says U.S. March sales down adjusted 3.4 percent

 Elsewhere, “More than 20,000 Vietnamese workers have walked off the job at a Taiwanese-owned plant that makes shoes for Nike Inc., demanding higher pay to keep pace with skyrocketing prices, officials said today. The workers at Ching Luh plant, in southern Long An province, went on strike Monday. They want a 20 percent bump to their $59 average monthly salaries along with better lunches at the company cafeteria, said Nguyen Van Thua, an official with the province’s trade union.”