General Economic News Dec. 13 - 17

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News
FRIDAY
White House has stake in Internet vote
Next week’s Federal Communications Commission vote on net neutrality could hand President Barack Obama a much-needed policy victory — or another fistful of frustration on a stubborn issue that’s been lingering since the start of his presidency.
Approval of Internet traffic rules likely-analysts
Contentious Internet traffic rules facing a vote next week are likely to be adopted without radically veering from a proposal unveiled earlier in the month, telecommunications policy analysts said on Wednesday.
Latest Airline Fee: $9 to Lock in Airfare
Continental Airlines Introduces New Fee to Hold Airfare
Another bubble?
Some tech start-ups look over-valued
Strong week for economy raises optimism for 2011
Buoyed by a string of hopeful government reports on layoffs, factory production and consumer spending, economists are predicting that hiring and even housing will pick up in 2011 and make it a better year after all.
McDonnell: State workers should pay for retirement
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed Thursday that all state employees begin paying into the state's retirement system starting in July 2011, the first time workers would be required to do so since 1983.
Implosion at the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
GOP members fire a torpedo at its report before it's published.
Pay freeze could heat things up at the exits
Actions have consequences. One unintended consequence of the two-year pay freeze President Obama asked Congress to impose on federal workers is the impact it may have on higher income employees and those eligible to retire.

THURSDAY
Mapping America: Every City, Every Block
Browse local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, based on samples from 2005 to 2009.
10 Best Data Visualization Projects of the Year – 2010
So here are the top 10 visualization projects of the year, listed from bottom to top.
Housing bust? So what? We still want to own
The American Dream is still alive and kicking, including within immigrant and minority communities, according to a survey from mortgage giant Fannie Mae.
U.S. Economic Confidence Declines in Early December
Confidence declines equally across upper-income and middle- and lower-income Americans
American Airlines starts a trend: Higher airfares
Airfares kept low by the weak economy may now be a thing of the past.
Average 30-year fixed mortgage rises to 4.83 pct.
Rates on fixed mortgages surged for the fifth straight week, reflecting higher yields on long-term Treasurys.
Not Really 'Made in China'
The iPhone's Complex Supply Chain Highlights Problems With Trade Statistics
Record plunge in foreclosures, thanks to robo-signers
The number of foreclosure notices filed in November plunged 21%, the biggest month-over-month drop ever recorded by RealtyTrac, the online foreclosure marketer. Filings fell 14% compared with November 2009.

WEDNESDAY
Factory output up; inflation tame; housing still depressed
Factory output grew for a fifth month in November, adding to evidence that manufacturing remains an engine of economic growth, while inflation remained tame. But home builders are still mired in a depression.
Violent protests as Greeks strike over austerity cuts
Huge crowds of protesters, upset about stringent Greek economic reforms, marched past the Greek Parliament in Athens Wednesday as police in white helmets tried to keep them from getting any closer.
Obama brainstorming with 20 CEOs
President Obama said Wednesday that a meeting with 20 CEOs will help "find new ways to spur hiring, put Americans back to work and move our economy forward."
U.S. Industrial Production Rises More Than Forecast
Industrial production in the U.S. increased more than forecast in November and consumer prices slowed, indicating the recovery is gaining momentum without generating inflation.
U.S. Consumer Prices Rose 0.1% in November, Below Forecast
The cost of living in the U.S. rose less than forecast in November, indicating higher prices for commodities such as fuel aren’t filtering through into other goods and services.
$4.3B haul spurs calls for airlines to disclose 'hidden' fees
A New Jersey senator said Tuesday that much of the record $4.3 billion U.S. airlines took in for checking bags and changing tickets the first nine months of the year were "hidden" fees that caught passengers by surprise.
Deal may unleash corporate cash
Beneath the surface of Wednesday’s White House summit with corporate America lies an increasingly pointed dispute about how to unlock the record high $1.9 trillion in cash that businesses have piled up recently.

TUESDAY
U.S. retail sales in November rise 0.8%
Consumers spent more money on gas, clothes, hobby items and online goods to boost U.S. retail sales in November for the fifth straight month, government data showed Tuesday.
Confidence at U.S. Small Companies Increases to Three-Year High
Confidence among U.S. small businesses rose in November to the highest level since the recession began three years ago as more companies projected the economy and sales will improve, a private survey found.
Oct. business inventories up 0.7%, below forecasts
Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.7% in October, below expectations and slower than the 1.4% increase in sales. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, slipped to 1.27 in October from 1.28 in September.
Producer Prices in U.S. Rose 0.8% in November; Core Up 0.3%
Wholesale costs in the U.S. rose in November by the most in eight months, led by higher prices for gasoline, heating oil and fruit.
Effort to help troubled borrowers largely failed
A $30 billion Obama administration program set up to help troubled homeowners modify mortgages has failed to help the vast majority of homeowners facing foreclosure.
Obama and CEOs: The great thaw
Last week, the administration said that 20 CEOs will meet with President Obama on Wednesday for a discussion that will cover trade, clean energy, the deficit and tax code reform.
Fewer Homes 'Underwater' as Foreclosures Increase
The number of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth fell in the third quarter, but the decline stemmed from banks getting more aggressive on foreclosures, not from home values going up.
Americans' Wellbeing Remains at 2010 Low
Drop in healthy behaviors are principle source of decline since May.

MONDAY
Are Americans as Poor as They Feel?
It depends on what they buy. While some big-ticket expenditures have skyrocketed, the relative cost of many necessities has dropped.
Will rising mortgage rates spur home sales?
Historically low mortgage rates didn't encourage new home sales, but rising rates could finally push home-buying fence-sitters into the market.
Fewer Homes `Underwater' Last Quarter as Foreclosures Rose
The number of U.S. homes worth less than the debt owed on them dropped in the third quarter, largely because of mounting foreclosures rather than a rise in property values, according to CoreLogic Inc.
Economic Reports for the Week of Dec. 13
Data this week will include retail sales and the Producer Price Index for November and business inventories for October (Tuesday); Consumer Price Index and industrial production for November (Wednesday); weekly jobless claims, housing starts for November, current account deficit for the third quarter and the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index for December (Thursday); and leading economic indicators for November (Friday).
Economists Predict Growth in 2011
Economists have grown more optimistic about the outlook for U.S. growth next year, predicting the expansion will accelerate as 2011 progresses, according to the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.
Risky Borrowers Find Credit Available, At a Price
Credit card offers are surging again after a three-year slowdown, as banks seek to revive a business that brought them huge profits before the financial crisis wrecked the credit scores of so many Americans.
Child-Poverty Rate Expected to Grow Drastically
Report: Nearly 1 million more children will be classified as poor by 2010's end.

Economist Comments
FRIDAY
The Feds' Fat Factory
First, kill all the farm subsidies! That should have been President Obama's mantra if he truly wanted to curb the nation's child-obesity "epidemic." Instead, on Monday he signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
The Coming College Education Bubble
Higher education's price-earnings ratio looks like Nevada housing circa 2007.
Obama's double bubble
Lax lending policy could blow up housing market again

THURSDAY
Too Much Attention Paid to Moody's Swing
The media are touting a rating agency's schizophrenic claim that keeping the Bush tax rates helps the economy, but hurts the country's credit standing. Are ratings firms even relevant anymore?

WEDNESDAY
Housing is the forgotten crisis
The U.S. economy has made a lot of progress since the dark days of September 2008 — investors are happy, bankers are secure, markets are functioning and businesses are flush. No depression here.
Unequal lesson for Social Security
The coming debate over Social Security may well be a preview of U.S. politics in the 21st century: 99 percent of Americans fighting over reduced benefits and increased taxes, while the richest 1 percent of them remain blissfully unaffected.
Silencing voices of Internet dissent
FCC's 'net neutrality' puts new Congress to the test
Forget the Great Recession; We're Facing the Next Great Depression
Bernanke's monetary policy will likely spike inflation high enough to collapse the economy again, and global stock markets will enter another devastating bear market.
Education payouts lack payoff
Redundant federal agencies create target-rich environment

TUESDAY
Austerity, Wall Street-Style
Booking Yachts Is Out, Carpooling on Private Jets Is In as Boffo Pay Ticks Lower.
Principles to Guide the Implementation of the Orderly Liquidation Authority Called for Under the Dodd-Frank Act
The Dodd-Frank Act recognizes that investor understandings about endgame rules influence a firm’s appetite for risk and that, without changing existing rules, higher capital requirements on systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) cannot by themselves end creditor perceptions that in most circumstances SIFIs are economically, politically, and administratively too difficult to fail and unwind.
Why Do the Poor Stay Poor?
Prosperity is impossible without property rights.
The US Treasury Debt Trap
Once interest payments take 30% of tax revenues, a country has an out-of-control debt-trap issue.
Nine Reasons 2011 Could Be a Repeat of 2010
Many pundits in the business media are signaling that the economy will perform much better in the coming year. Here, a look at why that's unlikely.

MONDAY
Irish Sovereign Debt Default Would Be Far from Armageddon
The world's economic policy makers have talked up a zero-tolerance attitude toward sovereign-debt defaults. For every troubled national borrower, there seem to be a dozen central bankers ready to hand out cash, always to avoid Armageddon.
Human Nature and Capitalism
The model of human nature one embraces will guide and shape everything else, from the economic system one prefers to the political system one supports.
Let a vigorous economy fight the War on Poverty
Whatever its original nobility of purpose, government data demonstrates that LBJ's War on Poverty has been lost. Despite everything Washington has done, the official poverty rate stubbornly stays within a range of 11 percent to 15 percent of the national population, year in and year out.
Economic Growth Beginning to Materialize
The rise in interest rates, copper prices, and crude oil is suggestive of stronger economic strength than is currently envisioned.

Blogs
FRIDAY
Making commuters' lives easier
Early this month, a massive new railway tunnel opened for the first time. It was finished six months early and nearly 10% under budget. So by now you know this didn't happen in America (or Britain, for that matter.)
Lies, Damned Lies, and Trade Statistics
If you want to understand how global integration and cross-border investment have left U.S. trade policy in need of a new purpose, check out today’s Wall Street Journal article about the Apple iPhone’s complex production-supply chain.  (And then see this analysis for more depth and detail.) The story is both testament to the benefits of globalization and the latest indictment of a decrepit international trade flow accounting system that nourishes misleading trade skeptics and misinforms policy.
Google ngram: the word "liberty"
For the pointer I thank Kevin Edwards.  The link here allows you to see the full graph.
Banks Are Lending, but to Whom?
A recurring concern we have heard since the financial crisis erupted is that banks are simply not lending, and that this is holding back economic activity.  If only banks would lend, the economy would grow.  As usual, the truth is a little more complex. 
Mark Thoma and I see the world differently
Politicians of both parties move back and forth between Washington and Wall Street. Was that the intent? Or was it just a series of bad luck and mistakes?
‘Politicians’ Top 10 Promises Gone Wrong’
That’s the title of an upcoming FOX News Channel feature program with John Stossel, in which Cato Executive Vice President David Boaz and Director of Health Policy Studies Michael F. Cannon weigh in on some of the hidden, unforeseen, and unintended consequences of the attempts to deliver on promises our politicians make.
Mass prosperity
David Leonhardt on the philosophical debate over ObamaCare.
Has England eliminated the gender pay gap?
Women in their 20s earn more than men the same age, according to a new study from the UK, but women's earnings drop below men's in their 30s.
What is Happening with Income Mobility?
As far as I am concerned, the important thing is to have a dynamic and growing economy with plenty of opportunities for those who are the least well-off among us. We can debate about whether or not ours is that sort of economy—especially given the current economic climate—but a simplistic analysis of income groups gives us very little information on this score.
Recovery Risks, Financial Overhaul, Voodoo Economics
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.

THURSDAY
Bacon prices got you scared? Join the club.
Bacon of the month clubs let you lock in the price for a full year of gourmet breakfast meat. It's not exactly cheap, however.
IPhone Adds $1.9 Billion to U.S.-China Trade Deficit
One widely touted solution for current U.S. economic woes is for America to produce more of the high-tech gadgets that the rest of the world craves.
Worlds apart: a firsthand look at emerging market growth
Emerging markets have vigor and energy that the huge American market seems to lack.
EPA Regulations Killing Clean Energy
In sharp contrast to the pro-nuclear energy rhetoric of the Administration, some nuclear power plant owners are considering shutting down their facilities. Exelon, owner of the New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, recently announced that it plans to close the plant 10 years early because of EPA regulations aimed at reducing the environmental impact of plants’ cooling water intake systems.
Lisa Jackson, Winner of the First Economic Darwin Award
We still need to designate an appropriate award for Ms. Jackson. Maybe a trophy depicting a shattered window (made from 100% recyclable materials of course)? 

WEDNESDAY
Transfer fees
The cost of sending money home.
Naughty and Nice
The only “nice” companies are those, like the PB@T Bank, that tried NOT to take the money.  The “naughty” are the government -- Bush and Obama officials -- who gave out your money.  Because even if every penny is paid back, the economy still lost.
Don’t Get Fooled By Accounting Conventions
In my latest column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, I grapple again with the issue of America’s trade deficit – doing so in a way that addresses some of the (many) objections that I’ve encountered over the years.  Here are the opening few paragraphs:
A Short History of Social Security Retirement Ages
This year, Social Security paid out more money than it took in for the first time since 1983. If the economy rebounds, Social Security is expected to be in the black by 2012 and will stay that way until 2015. But starting in 2016 Social Security will be in the red for as long as the Social Security Trustees can see.

TUESDAY
Public Sector Inc.
Reform of public sector unionism is sure to be a major policy issue facing the states in the coming decade.
The Illustrated History of the U.S. Credit Collapse
The collapse in credit issuance/borrowing began in 2008 and would have been net negative without the Federal government. In 2009, for example, the Federal government was 141 percent of total net credit borrowings.
Credit Card Companies Seeking to Expand Lending?
The value of outstanding revolving credit balances (read credit card debt) is falling because people are actually paying down balances, which means that credit card issuers have gone from losing money on bad debt, to losing money on people who don't carry such large balances any more.
Unions That Won’t Take ‘No’ for an Answer
Part of living in a democracy involves accepting election results. Americans know to move on when their side loses. Someone should tell that to the union movement.

MONDAY
The ‘Consumer Spending’ Myth
Journalists talk endlessly these days about the need for more consumer spending to revive the economy, and for government programs to juice consumer spending. Economist Steven Horwitz takes on the assumption that spending is the key to economic activity:
Mortgage rates at highest level since July
Mortgage rates surged to 4.66 percent for 30-year fixed, the highest they've been since July 28, according to the Mortgage Bankers' Association.
Unofficial Problem Bank list at 919 Institutions
Here is the unofficial problem bank list for Dec 10, 2010.
People Produce (and Export) Only in Order to Consume (and Import)
Those who applaud Americans getting lots of money for their exports, but who then criticize Americans for importing, or who regard greater American imports as a detriment to America – that is, those who are critical of Americans for using their export earnings to improve their living standards – are inconsistent and confused.
Schedule for Week of December 12th
This will be a very busy week. The current plan is for the Senate to vote on the tax legislation on Monday at 3:00 pm. The House of Representatives is expected to vote later in the week, and then Congress plans to adjourn for the year on Friday.
What's Your U.S. Income Rating?
Did you ever wonder just where you fit in among all income-earning Americans?

Reports
THURSDAY
Foreign Purchases of U.S. Securities Slow in October
Net purchases of U.S. securities slowed noticeably in October. While private investors were net buyers of long-term securities, foreign official investors were net sellers. Less demand for Treasurys pushed yields up.
Congress Should Block Union Transparency Rollback
The Obama Administration recently rolled back union financial transparency reforms. New regulations will exempt many union trust funds, such as strike funds and apprenticeship programs, from financial disclosure laws. These regulations also end financial reporting for many government unions.

WEDNESDAY
Retail Sales Rose in November; Good Start to Holiday Season
Sales at the nation’s retailers rose 0.8 percent in November, largely due to increases in gasoline, clothing and sporting goods. “Core” sales, which exclude autos, gas and building materials, rose 0.9 percent.

TUESDAY
Export Controls and the Hard Case of China
It is clearly in the interests of the United States to maintain some degree of control over its exports, if only to safeguard security-related technologies and deny them to its potential adversaries, as well as to support other aims such as nonproliferation. However, the United States has an equally high interest in supporting a healthy U.S. economy and fostering international political links, which require sustaining a robust portfolio of exports.

MONDAY
Economics Group
Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary