News
Market Watch | Corn up 4% on lower-than-expected ending stocks
Corn futures climbed 4% Tuesday to mark their highest closing level in nearly three weeks after the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted lower-than-expected corn ending stocks for the current marketing year and next.
Bloomberg | Treasuries Decline Before U.S. Auctions $21 Billion in 10-Year Securities
U.S. debt pared losses as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress the central bank is prepared to take additional action if the economy appears to be in danger of stalling. Ten-year yields touched 2.81 percent yesterday, the lowest level this year, as Treasuries rallied amid concern the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe was spreading.
Market Watch | Import prices drop 0.5% in June
Prices paid for goods imported into the U.S. fell in June for the first time in a year, largely because of declining fuel costs, according to government data.
CNBC | Can Corporate Mergers Help Save the Weak US Economy?
The plodding US economy had one significant bright spot in the first half of the year—a bustling mergers and acquisitions market that stands a good chance of continuing through the second half.
National Journal | Report Calls for Overhaul of Nuclear Safety Rules
The “patchwork” of safety rules governing U.S. nuclear power plants is in need of a comprehensive overhaul, according to a report commissioned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and sent to the agency’s five commissioners on Tuesday.
Market Watch | China economic growth slows to 9.5%
China’s economy expanded a fraction faster than expected in the April-to-June quarter, while other data released Wednesday suggested domestic conditions remain relatively upbeat, even as concerns spread over the resilience of the global economy.
Econ Comments
Daily Caller | Our economy needs small businesses, and small businesses need regulatory reform
Small businesses are key to getting our economy back on track, but they bear the brunt of the increasing cost of regulation.
Politcio | Big government is not way to stronger economy
California demonstrates that even one of the world’s largest economies can reach a tipping point — where the disincentives for economic growth and job creation overwhelm even extraordinary human talent and natural resources.
NYT | Banking on the Future
President Obama has proposed a $30 billion infrastructure bank that, unlike the Senate proposal, would not necessarily sustain itself over time. His proposal is tied to the reauthorization of federal highway transportation money and is not, in my view, as far-reaching or well designed as the Senate proposal.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Youth Hardest Hit in Obama Economy
Whom has the recession hurt the most? There is no easy answer to that question—job opportunities have diminished for every ethnic and demographic group. But one of the worst hit groups has attracted little media attention: the youth. Younger Americans overwhelmingly voted for Obama in 2008, but the Obama economy has not treated them well:
Financial Times | Wealth no longer wilting, just tilting
Here are a few slides, charts and graphs that piqued our interest from the Boston Consulting Group’s latest annual wealth report — see the press release if you just want the main points.
Reports
Heritage Foundation | Free the Housing Finance Market from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the government-sponsored mortgage giants—must be shut down. Both entities distort the market by issuing mortgage-backed securities with subsidized government guarantees that the mortgages will be repaid. If such guarantees are necessary, they should be priced and issued by the private sector, not by the state.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Trade Deficit Widens Sharply on Jump in Crude Oil Imports
The trade deficit widened sharply in May as crude oil imports jumped on higher prices and volume. Exports fell on a big decline in industrial supplies demand. Both exports and imports of autos rebounded.
