News
Bloomberg | Existing-Home Sales in U.S. Unexpectedly Fall
Purchases of existing homes dropped 0.8 percent to a 5.05 million annual pace last month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington.
Fox News | Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits
Applications for benefits dropped 29,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 409,000 the Labor Department said.
Market Watch | April leading economic indicators fall 0.3%
The pace of economic growth may be "choppy" in the summer and fall, the Conference Board said Thursday as it reported that its leading economic index fell 0.3% in April, the first monthly decline since June. "The economy has been growing moderately and delivering some new jobs," said Ken Goldstein, economist at the Conference Board, in a statement.
Bloomberg | Philadelphia Area’s Manufacturing Expands at Slowest Pace in Seven Months
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index fell to 3.9, the weakest reading since October, from 18.5 a month earlier.
Market Watch | Private mortgage issuer urges Fannie wind-down
The top official of a California firm that has issued the only two major private residential mortgage security transactions since the financial crisis of 2008 said on Wednesday the illiquid private securities market would come back if the government winds down government-seized housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
WSJ | Japan Slides Into Recession
Japan's economy contracted at a much-worse-than-expected 3.7% annualized rate in the January-March period, tipping the country into a recession as the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused declines in consumer spending, business investment and private-sector inventories.
CNN: Money | Congress: Protect workers' 401k funds
Congress wants to make it tougher for workers to tap their 401(k) retirement funds -- and to make it easier for them to repay those loans when they do.
Hawaii Reporter | Moody’s Downgrades State of Hawaii’s General Obligation Bond Rating
Hawaii’s “strained” state financial operations, the depletion of its reserves in fiscal year 2011, and covering budget shortfalls with one-time solutions — these are the factors that Moody’s Investors Services cited in downgrading the general obligation bond rating for an estimated $5.1 billion in debt.
Econ Comments
Bloomberg | Oil in N.Y. Trades Near Highest in More Than a Week on U.S. Supply Decline
Futures were near $100 a barrel after as much as 0.7 percent. Stockpiles slipped 15,000 barrels last week to 370.3 million, the Energy Department said yesterday. Supplies were projected to rise 1.7 million barrels in a Bloomberg News survey.
Washington Times | DIAMOND: TSA vs. Texas
Showdown over pat-downs opens important constitutional debate.
Daily Caller | Inactivity on trade is leaving U.S. small businesses behind
Since the U.S. negotiated its first free trade agreement in 1985, FTA's have become an integral part of U.S. trade policy. The eliminate monetary tariffs and other barriers on goods, which simplifies the exporting process and allows for greater profit margins for small businesses.
Washington Times | GRAVES: Business will step up when Obama backs off
Small companies need to feel safe from federal mandates.
Financial Times | Fund must turn away from DSK’s economic mistakes
Mr. Strauss-Kahn's decision to treat the crisis as a matter of liquidity rather than solvency led the IMF to eschew any notion of debt restructuring, or exiting from the euro, as a solution to the periphery's public sectoer and external imbalance problems.
Cato@Liberty | Are Oil Futures Markets Being Manipulated?
A few weeks ago President Barack Obama announced the creation of a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, a working group under the Department of Justice that will be charged with rooting out manipulation in oil futures markets.
Bloomberg | Government Prays a Bigger Sucker Is Out There: Jonathan Weil
Look through the footnotes in American International Group Inc. (AIG)’s latest annual report, and you will see a long section analyzing the company’s ability to use past losses to offset future income-tax obligations.
MSN | Why home prices are falling -- again
Too few buyers with too many homes for sale depresses prices. Analysts foresee an additional 10% plunge -- an opportunity for landlords and investors, but bad news for homeowners.
Blogs
Econlog | Steven Levitt's "Daughter Test"
If the answer is that I wouldn't want my daughter to do it, then I don't mind the government passing a law against it.
Political Calculations | Are Teacher Unions Gouging Teachers?
How much mondy do teachers unions really need to collect from their members to represent their interests with their employees?
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Foreign Buyers Getting Firesale Prices on U.S. Housing
For U.S. homeowners, the family moving in next door could be Canadian. Or Chinese.
Reports
Mercatus Center | Public-Sector Unionism: A Review
Public sector unions are able to affect governments‘ fiscal and budgetary policy by exerting influence through the collective bargaining process and through political activity by backing candidates likely to support the union‘s agenda. The effectiveness of these approaches in raising wages, employment, and spending depends on the interaction of collective bargaining laws and the political activity of unions.
