Always worth reading: R. Samuelson

Robert Sameulson is optimistic. Should he be? We link, you decide.

WASHINGTON -- Consider it a good omen. In October, the U.S. trade deficit dropped unexpectedly to $58.9 billion, about $5.4 billion less than in September. Although the largest cause was lower oil prices, strong American exports -- up 14 percent from a year earlier -- also contributed significantly. And that's exactly what the economy needs in 2007: an export surge. It would ward off recession and narrow today's dangerously large global trade imbalances. We need what economists call a "rebalancing'' of our economy and the world's.