Castro Resigns His Reign
After nearly a half-century in power, Fidel Castro resigned as president of Cuba last week. The 81-year-old made the announcement in a statement to Granma, the official publication of the Cuban Communist Party. President George W. Bush greeted the news by saying that the resignation should be the beginning a democratic transition in Cuba that would lead to free elections. But don't expect big changes to the way things are run, as Castro's 76-year-old brother Raul has effectively been leading the country since July 2006.

Economic Indicators Dip
The index of leading U.S. economic indicators dipped by 0.1 percent in January. Four of the 10 components that make up the leading indicators — stock prices, building permits, manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods and interest-rate spread — fell in January, according to The Conference Board.

U.S. Consumer Prices Rose 0.4 Percent
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for Urban areas (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent in January, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The indexes for food and for energy each advanced 0.7 percent, following increases in December of 0.1 and 1.7 percent, respectively. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the preceding nine months.

Ohio's Job Losses in 2000s Worst Since Great Depression
Manufacturing's job loss in Ohio since 2000 is 236,000, reports IndustryWeek.com. Ten of Ohio's metropolitan areas suffered plunging jobs in manufacturing that are even more severe than for the state as a whole, according to a new report from the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC), prepared by Dr. Charles W. McMillion, President and Chief Economist of MBG Information Services.

Global Metals Markets See Robust Mergers and Acquisitions Action
The number of deals among metals companies announced during 2007's fourth quarter exceeded the deals announced during 2006's fourth quarter, 37 and 35 respectively, says PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Non-U.S. firms and strategic investors led the way in Q4 2007, according to PWC.

Deficit Fell in December
Total December exports valued at $144.3 billion and imports of $203.1 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $58.8 billion, says the United States Department of Commerce. The $58.8 billion is down from $63.1 billion deficit in November.

Retail Sales Gained in January
Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for January, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for prices changes, were $382.9 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous month and 3.9 percent above January 2007, says the U.S. Census Bureau.

Labor Market Trends Are Weaker
In the week ending Feb.16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 349,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 358,000. The four-week moving average was 360,500, an increase of 10,750 from the previous week's revised average of 349,750, says the U.S. Department of Labor. The total number collecting unemployment hit the highest levels since October 2005, according to MarketWatch.

Asian Nations Drive Record Patent Growth in 2007
The U.S. is still in the No. 1 slot, but China, Japan and South Korea were the main driver behind record patent growth in 2007 accounting for more than a quarter of new registrations, the World Intellectual Property Organization said Feb. 21. (via IndustryWeek). On a global basis, the number of new patents reached a record 156,100, up 4.7 percent from 2006.

DOJ Sentences More IP Thieves
The Department of Justice filed 217 intellectual property (IP) cases in FY2007, compared with 204 reported in FY2006 and 169 cases reported in FY2005. Also in FY2007, 287 defendants were sentenced for IP crimes, compared with 213 in FY2006 and 149 in FY2005, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Virtual Fence Deters Illegal Immigrants
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took conditional possession of the prototype virtual fence called Project 28. Nine towers equipped with radar and communications systems and automated ground sensors link to a command and control center and border patrol vehicles, says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "The 28-mile long virtual fence system includes 98-foot unmanned surveillance towers that are equipped with sophisticated technology including radar, sensor devices and cameras capable of distinguishing people from cattle at a distance of about 10 miles," reports The Associated Press.

Family Leave Act Amendment
Federal regulators have proposed relatively minor changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act, says the Los Angeles Times. The proposals would give employers more leeway to verify that people taking medical leave were actually sick, explains the newspaper. Also, the amendment would enable family members to care for wounded service members for up to 26 weeks in a 12-month period, explains the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL will take comments until April 11 on proposed rules before issuing final regulations. To comment, visit www.regulations.gov and enter "Family and Medical Leave Act" in the "Comment or submission" field.