News
CNN | Florida high-speed train project derailed; Court rules for Scott
Supporters of a proposed high-speed rail system in Florida had hoped to get the project back on track Friday -- the deadline to accept $2.4 billion in federal funds -- but the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Rick Scott can reject the money.
Fox | More Carry-On Luggage Costing Taxpayers, TSA Millions a Year
Choosing to carry your luggage onto a plane instead of checking it with an airline might save you a few bucks at the ticket counter but it's costing taxpayers about a quarter-billion dollars a year.
Bloomberg | Cotton Futures Soar to Record on `Worldwide Scramble' for Limited Supplies
Cotton futures surged to a record on signs that global demand from textile mills will continue to outpace supplies.
Econ Comments
Barron's | The Mistrust Fund
The chief of federal budgeting misleads the public on Social Security.
Investors Business Daily | De-Banked By Dodd-Frank
The Dodd-Frank financial overhaul that passed last July charged the U.S. Treasury with fixing the prices that banks could charge merchants for debit card transactions. And on Dec. 16, the Treasury lowered the boom.
AEI | I Don't Know
Will the Doha Round Be Completed in 2011?
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | China Is Number One… in Riskiness
A new survey of risk managers names China as the number one “emerging risk” that keeps them awake at night.
Café Hayek | Wal-Mart and Creative Destruction
A friend asked me earlier today a Wal-Mart question. I remembered this letter to the editor of The Economist that I wrote in 2006; I post it here at the Cafe for the first time:
The Daily Capitalist | Why Real Estate Will Hold The Economy Back
Commercial real estate loans and residential housing will continue to be a significant drag on economic performance. Until the mass of over-built homes and commercial properties are liquidated credit will remain tight and unemployment will remain high.
Marginal Revolution | Wisconsin vs. Texas, on education
This piece is marred by some unfortunate polemics, but it makes one core point very effectively:
The Economist: Free Exchange | The risky list
If you had to pick the most systemically risky financial firms in America, which would be in your top three? Bank of America? Citigroup? MetLife?
AEI: The American | Who’s Stalling Whom on Trade?
Calls for broader trade progress have been bipartisan, yet the Obama administration continues to delay free trade agreements.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo Economics Group | ISM Non-Manufacturing Continues to Rise
The February ISM non-manufacturing index came in above expectations at 59.7 with increases in several of the index subcomponents. The prices paid component still signals upward pressure on input costs.
