It is that time of year when economists start making predictions, so here are mine:

· Brazil to beat Argentina in World Cup Final.
· England and USA will be lucky to make second round.
· If you are looking for an outside bet, try Belgium (16/1) or Uruguay (28/1).

In other news (is there other news this month?), the Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.7% from March. The index has increased 3.7% since April 2013. The labor market saw improvements in job openings, initial claims for unemployment insurance and overall employment. The number of job openings is double the number of five years ago while initial claims for unemployment insurance have halved. Employment increased by almost 5,000 jobs. After accounting for the Masters bump, employment was still up over 2,000 from March.

The housing market is also showing some signs of improvement according to data from Blanchard and Calhoun. Prices of houses that sold in May were 6.9% higher than May 2013 and more houses sold in May 2014 than May 2013.