WSJ economics team adds two reporters

Wall Street Journal economics editor Neil King sent out the following staff announcement on Monday:

We’re pleased to announce two big additions to the Journal’s expanding economics team: Nick Timiraos, Journal housing reporter extraordinaire, and Josh Zumbrun, until just weeks ago Bloomberg’s crack Fed reporter.

The two Hoyas bring a wide array of skills to our econ team at a critical moment for the U.S. economy. They’ll play key roles in our coverage across all platforms, including our upcoming expansion of Real Time Economics on WSJ.com.

Nick, who is wrapping up his service on the housing beat while already rooted in DC, joined the Journal in 2006 as an intern in his native L.A. and did a stint for us on the 2008 campaign trail. He went on to earn his stripes as the nation’s top housing reporter, covering developments across the sector, including housing-finance policy.

Josh, who grew up on a hog farm in Indiana, has covered vast terrain in a decade of D.C. reporting. He started on the Metro and Style desks at the Washington Post, where he pioneered the practice of—and the term—hypermiling. (He’ll explain.) He went on to excel in covering the economy and the Fed, first at Forbes and then Bloomberg. His resume notes his service as a Citgo gas station attendant and a cook at Hot Stuff Pizza.

Nick and Josh also happen to be pals. They even followed each other — Josh went first — as editors of The Hoya, Georgetown’s premier campus newspaper.