Two signs that the economy may be at long last picking up:
Hotel occupancy and rates at all three New York international airports are staging a partial recovery. Occupancy at these locations has served in the past as an accurate early indicator of the trend of the economy.
Customers are waiting twelve deep and for five minutes throughout the morning at a Starbucks on the Upper West Side despite added personnel behind the counter. Six months ago it would have been considered an inconvenience to have to wait for two people.
