News
Yahoo Finance | Chavez says capitalism may have ended life on Mars
Capitalism may be to blame for the lack of life on the planet Mars, Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday.
Politico | Libya, Japan crises could rock the economy
The punishing allied airstrikes in Libya, coupled with the continuing nuclear crisis in Japan, threaten to push high oil prices even higher and undermine the fragile economic recovery in the United States and abroad.
CNN Money | Japan earthquake could cost $309 billion
Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami could cost up to $309 billion, making it the most costly disaster in the country since the end of World War II, the Japanese government said Wednesday.
Fox | New homes are becoming a bad deal in weak markets
A new home, the dream of many would-be buyers, makes less and less financial sense in many places.
Bloomberg | Japan's Quake Damage May Swell to $309 Billion
Japan’s government estimated the damage from this month’s record earthquake and tsunami at as much as 25 trillion yen ($309 billion), an amount almost four times the hit imposed by Hurricane Katrina on the U.S.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | TONELSON: Obama doesn’t get trade finance
President Obama wants to use international trade policy to generate a sustainable, private-sector-led recovery, and that’s a good idea.
WSJ | More Spectrum, Please
AT&T bids $39 billion to get around FCC bottlenecks.
RCM | President Obama's Crony Capitalism
Obama critics were quick to link U.S. loans for Brazil oil to benefits for his investor pal George Soros. There was no link in this case, but considering how this president operates, it's no wonder suspicions ran high.
Washington Times | Gas pains, Midwest farmers’ gains?
Rising shipping costs put westernmost growers at competitive disadvantage.
Blogs
Consumer Reports: Money Blog | Banks roll out higher ATM fees
The fee you pay for getting cash from an ATM not with your bank just got steeper. Banks are looking to make up for revenue lost because of the implementation of new federal regulations that limit the fees they can attach to banking actions like overdrawing your debit account.
Café Hayek | Made on Earth
Writing in the Finanical Times, Gillian Tett muses on the meaningless of “Made in….” labels. Here’s the concluding half of Tett’s excellent essay:
