News
CNN: Money | Your monthly gasoline bill: $368
Round-trip airfare from New York to Los Angeles. More than a dozen dinners for two at Applebee's. Two 16 GB iPod nanos. These are just a few of the things you could have bought if you weren't spending $368.09 a month on gasoline.That's the average amount American households spent on gas in April, according to an exclusive analysis of data by the Oil Price Information Service for CNNMoney.
Market Watch | China’s investment wave heads to U.S. shores
The state of Michigan’s Economic Development Corp. moved its Asia office to Shanghai from Hong Kong in 2005. A few years later, the state of South Carolina beefed up its Shanghai development staff and closed a Tokyo office.
Bloomberg | U.K. House Prices May Drop as Much as 20% Over Next Five Years, Niesr Says
While the property market recovered last year from its slump, recent housing data have signal led weakness as government spending cuts undermine consumer confidence and banks continue to rebuild balance sheets.
National Journal | Grassley, Conrad Want Lower Ethanol Credit
Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., introduced legislation on Wednesday that would transition the current 45-cent ethanol tax credit to a variable credit that would adjust based on the price of oil. According to an interest group supportive of the plan, Grassley’s proposal would significantly reduce the overall cost of the federal subsidy.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | BLUEY & BURNETT: More oil would mean smaller deficit
By blocking drilling, Obama turns down billions in needed revenue.
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Welfare nation
Culture of dependency threatens economic recovery.
WSJ | If Supermarkets Were Like Public Schools
What if groceries were paid for by taxes, and you were assigned a store based on where you live?
Politico | Reform still lets banks play roulette
The financial crisis of 2007-2008 is receiding in the public mind. Other than the giant hole in federal budget, its legacies are obscure. But one key legacy of the crisis is its enduring lesson about the power of big U.S. bnaks and the elusiveness of meaningful refomr of the financial system.
CNN: Money | http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/04/betting-on-fannie-and-freddie-and-winning/
Investors who had the stomach to stick with Fannie and Freddie have reaped rewards. But with the future of these lenders still uncertain, the risks are too great for most investors.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Obama’s Anti-Energy Policies Are Bankrupting America
Randall Stilley has witnessed firsthand the Obama administration’s job-killing agenda. As the president and chief executive of Seahawk Drilling, he had to lay off 632 employees before filing for bankruptcy — a direct result of President Barack Obama’s anti-energy policies.
NRO: The Corner | CBO Endorses Market Valuation of Pension Liabilities
States usually report unfunded liabilities on their pension plans of roughly $500 billion. However, many economists, joined by a growing number of actuaries, have been very vocal about the fact that this is a gross underestimation of the problem.
Heritage Foundation | Deep water Drilling Permitting Rate Still Way Below Average
As gas prices continue to climb — reaching as high as $5.75 to $6.03 a gallon in some places — the Department of the Interior remains stingy with deep water drilling permits.
Café Hayek | Rising inequality
Planet Money reports on a new OECD study that finds that income inequality is rising worldwide within most countries:
