Hopefully 2015 Will Be As Good; North Dakota Best State For Job Creation -- Washington Post -- January 4, 2015

the Washington Post is reporting:

After years of recession and a weak recovery, 2014 may be remembered as the year the U.S. economy regained its footing.

It was the best year for job growth since 1999, and economists predict strong growth in gross domestic product next year, too.

The state that led the way in job creation, though, was one that never really slowed down: North Dakota.

Credit the Bakken oil fields, which have fueled an energy boom that kept North Dakotans employed even in the depths of the recession. The state’s population has boomed, its median income has climbed more than 10 percent in the past six years, and its unemployment rate, 2.7 percent, is the lowest in the country. This was one of the reasons we gave North Dakota the Best State award last spring.

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Notes to the Granddaughters

I had a nice lunch with long-time friends who have lived in southern California their entire adult lives. One of the two manages the family's investment portfolio.

In a wide-ranging 90-minute conversation, investing and the economy occupied less than five minutes of our time.

Three takeaways or topics of discussion:

• Apple and the computer industry in general: some people "get it"; others "don't"; some don't care
• health care industry: huge investment opportunity; not a huge investment opportunity but ObamaCare is good for the country; ObamaCare: some people "get it"; others "don't"; some don't care
• oil: no one knows; no consensus among the four of us; 

Bottom line: I'm glad we spent less than five minutes on the US economy, investing, etc.

Most of the discussion had to to do with visiting museums, restaurants, Chinese roast duck, duck, lamb, whale watching.