News
CNN Money | Guess what? Dollar bills are made of cotton
Sure, packs of T-shirts and socks are getting expensive because of skyrocketing cotton prices. Guess what else is made of cotton? The dollar bill in your wallet.
Breitbart | N. Korea asking poor Africa nations for food
North Korea is pleading for food aid even from some of the world's poorest nations such as Zimbabwe, a report has said, amid suspicion the aid may be used to boost the regime's political standing.
CNN Money | Oil and gold: Rally won't last
Oil above $100! Gold hitting new records! Don't fear the headlines. Most market experts think oil and gold prices will settle down as the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East region subsides.
CNN Money | China's 'insatiable' demand brings inflation risk
China's massive building boom shows little signs of slowing, bringing with it a huge appetite for raw materials -- and the threat of inflation
MSNBC | Yes, the world still has plenty of oil, but ...
Market fears of an unstable Middle East and a growing futures market mean the cost will keep rising
CNN Money | States: Let's make a deal to help homeowners
State attorneys general have launched talks with big banks accused of illegally foreclosing on homeowners with the hopes of reaching a deal that could result in more mortgage modifications, a top negotiator said Monday.
Econ Comments
Cato Institute | Is India an Economic Superpower in the Making?
Globalization has been an extraordinary force for good. China and India are its greatest success stories.
Youtube | Top 3 Policy Reforms to Grow the Economy
Economist Jeffrey Miron of Harvard University outlines three policy reforms
Washington Times | Incorrigible Keynesians
Theory’s founder would denounce policies associated with his name
Fiscal Times | Social Security: 5 Enduring Myths that Must Go
A handful of misconceptions tend to crop up repeatedly — often having to do with that fiscal fun-house mirror, the Social Security trust fund. And despite the efforts of writers like Allan Sloan and experts like the Urban Institute’s Eugene Steuerle, the myths won’t die. This column won’t kill them either, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a whack.
Blogs
CSM: Green Economics | Will high food prices have a long-term effect?
In the Wall Street Journal, Scott Kilman tells a "triple witching" hour tale about the prospects of even higher food prices. Soaring world demand is one fundamental trend. On the supply side, he talks of ethanol subsidies attracting U.S corn production and weather shocks disrupting production.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Consumer Debt Rises, but Credit-Card Use Falls
U.S. consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 2.5% in January as federal government lending rose, though credit-card debt fell to a six-year low.
CalculatedRisk | CoreLogic: 11.1 Million U.S. Properties with Negative Equity in Q4
CoreLogic released the Q4 2010 negative equity report today.
Fiscal Times | ECON 101: Protectionism For Dummies
The deadweight losses from protectionism mean that the economy is worse off on net, or that there has been a reduction in total economic welfare, the total number of jobs, wealth, prosperity, and/or national income.
EconLog | Energy Subsidies
Energy policy is a triumph of faith over experience.
Atlantic | America's 401(k)s Are Disasters, but Are Pensions Any Better?
We're all going to be paying for this delusion for a long, long time.
National Review: The Corner | Fannie, Freddie, and the Mortgage Market
The Obama administration last month issued a white paper with proposals for gradually phasing out the two housing giants, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Critics of the plan have argued that handing mortgage financing over to the private sector will lead to further “market” failures — by which many people mean that it would become harder to secure a loan to buy a house because down payments would be higher and interest rates would go up.
CSM: Adam Smith Institute | Does India need more supermarkets?
Bringing British-style supermarkets to India could increase the country's food supply.
Reports
Heritage Foundation | Jumpstarting the Visa Waiver Program to Increase Security and Economic Prosperity
Representatives Mike Quigley (D–IL) and Dan Lipinski (D–IL) and Senator Mark Kirk (R–IL) announced plans today to introduce the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act in both the House and the Senate. This act would introduce several reforms to modernize the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), including a switch from visa refusal rates to overstay rates as a standard for admission.
Cato Institute | Fannie, Freddie and the Subprime Mortgage Market
In order to protect both the taxpayer and our broader economy, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished, along with other policies that transfer the risk of mortgage default from the lender to the taxpayer.
