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In his most recent New York Times Magazine column, Adam Davidson writes about how he and his Planet Money colleagues surveyed the shopping indicator scene to see what Americans' shopping patterns might tell us about the state of the economy. From lipstick (once a strong indicator, now not so much) to Champagne sales ("consistently accurate"), there is no shortage of goods that are extolled as strong indicators. But in the end, the big takeaway is that consumers seem to remain consumers, and have yet to transition into savers. Davidson: Of all the indicators we looked at, one of the most consistently accurate was Champagne sales. The amount of French Champagne that Americans consume has predicted — with nearly 90 percent accuracy — the average American income one year later. Apparently, when we pop a Champagne cork, we know that good times are ahead (see chart). Champagne sales hurtled upward twice in recent history — at the peak of the Internet bubble in 1999 and during the heyday of the housing bubble in 2007. These were both followed by slowdowns as fewer people found reason to celebrate. There are so many indicators to choose from that you could glean just about anything regarding our economic future. In fact, the most telling indicator appears to be the sheer number of indicators themselves. Americans now have so many seductive things they can buy that there are ample consumer options no matter what we feel. Partly as a result, savings — known in economics as deferred consumption — have fallen steadily for more than 30 years, from a high of nearly 12 percent of income. It kissed zero before a tiny uptick in the past couple years. The decline of the savings rate is particularly troubling because it is consistent through busts and booms. During the fast growth of the late 1990s and mid-2000s, and the dark times that followed, people have been choosing to spend more and save less than ever before. Paradoxically, this happened just as pensions have been disappearing and life spans have been increasing. It suggests that Americans are so caught up in every short-term enthusiasm or agony that they haven't thought enough about long-term fiscal health. Read What Nail Polish Sales Tell Us About the Economy here .

Planet Money has taken the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data on unemployment and put together a highly useful, but very simple, interactive chart to show unemployment trends across age groups. Here is a glimpse at the unemployment rate for people aged 20-24 who do not have a high school diploma: Click here to use the chart.

Unemployment in Germany is now at about 6 percent. That seems awfully low in today's global economic climate, but it seems high to Germans. And still, it took some painful maneuvering to get it that low. Planet Money took a trip over to Germany to learn more about the nation's ten year push to transform its labor market. That push helped the once stagnant manufacturing get going again, and in the process to produce more jobs. Take a listen (skip ahead to 02:30 for the story on Germany's unemployment):

The Planet Money team has done some excellent work this year in explaining some of the basics of money--especially in their What is Money? special for This American Life . Today David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein take a look at a relatively new currency: Bitcoin . Bitcoin is a sort of online cash. Daniel Lyons gave a brief description in a June article for Newsweek : What if people could use the Internet to create a new kind of money, one that didn’t involve governments and central banks and could be used anonymously, like cash? That is the idea behind Bitcoin, a virtual currency that has caught the attention of computer geeks, financial speculators, and drug dealers. For the first time, you can buy anything online without giving your credit-card number or bank-account information—leaving no trace at all. Hundreds of merchants accept Bitcoins for things like books, computers, and professional services. The currency trades on a handful of Bitcoin exchanges, where the price of a Bitcoin fluctuates based on demand. Not long ago a single Bitcoin sold for less than a dollar, but in recent months the price climbed to $8, then to $20, then above $30, before falling back to $18, the current level. So is this a currency with a future? With that question in mind, Planet Money gave Bitcoin a try:

In her latest post at Economix , Nancy Folbre reminded us about the This American Life episode on job creation. Back in May, the producers at PRI 's TAL put together an hour titled How to Create a Job . They, and their friends from Planet Money , spoke with governors, bureaucrats, job seekers, journalists and economists about who actually has the capacity to create jobs. A couple of months later, the program is as relevant as ever. Take a listen: Click here to listen to select segments.

Yes times are tough now. But imagine living in an age when graft and extortion were pretty basic components to living. Planet Money went back to such a time, the Middle Ages. Take a listen:

Most readers associate Michael Lewis with his best-selling books Liar's Poker , The Big Short , Moneyball , and The Blind Side . But he has written some amazing pieces on economies in danger. His long form Vanity Fair article on Iceland's collapse two years ago remains one of the best pieces of journalism on the global economic crisis. Now he's written another compelling Vanity Fair article--this time the subject is Ireland, Here's a very brief excerpt: Ireland’s financial disaster shared some things with Iceland’s. It was created by the sort of men who ignore their wives’ suggestions that maybe they should stop and ask for directions, for instance. But while Icelandic males used foreign money to conquer foreign places—trophy companies in Britain, chunks of Scandinavia—the Irish male used foreign money to conquer Ireland. Left alone in a dark room with a pile of money, the Irish decided what they really wanted to do with it was to buy Ireland. From one another. An Irish economist named Morgan Kelly, whose estimates of Irish bank losses have been the most prescient, made a back-of-the-envelope calculation that puts the losses of all Irish banks at roughly 106 billion euros. (Think $10 trillion.) At the rate money currently flows into the Irish treasury, Irish bank losses alone would absorb every penny of Irish taxes for at least the next three years. In recognition of the spectacular losses, the entire Irish economy has almost dutifully collapsed. When you fly into Dublin you are traveling, for the first time in 15 years, against the traffic. The Irish are once again leaving Ireland, along with hordes of migrant workers. In late 2006, the unemployment rate stood at a bit more than 4 percent; now it’s 14 percent and climbing toward rates not experienced since the mid-1980s. Just a few years ago, Ireland was able to borrow money more cheaply than Germany; now, if it can borrow at all, it will be charged interest rates nearly 6 percent higher than Germany, another echo of a distant past. The Irish budget deficit—which three years ago was a surplus—is now 32 percent of its G.D.P., the highest by far in the history of the Eurozone. One credit-analysis firm has judged Ireland the third-most-likely country to default. Not quite as risky for the global investor as Venezuela, but riskier than Iraq. Distinctly Third World, in any case. Read When Irish Eyes Are Crying here . Given Lewis's valuable skill at making sense of complicated financial stories, we were surprised to learn that he has very little interest in money. At least that's what he claims in an interview with Planet Money . Take a listen: