More and more economists are treating attention as a resource, just like land, labour and capital. But if attention is a resource, it is not one covered by property rights, notes our Free exchange column. The spread of smartphones and social media has made it very easy to steal. Can anything return attention to its owners?

Elsewhere, employment data in America have been weak, which means that the Fed is likely to cut interest rates on Wednesday. But, as our analysis explains, the American economy is stronger than it looks.