News
National Journal | Money Fight Muddles Offshore Drilling Bill
The revenue fight comes at the peak of the roiling debate over how to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling—but also as cash-strapped state governments, forced to slash expenditures on everything from teachers to prisons, are desperately casting about for new sources of revenue.
Financial Times | Eurozone manufacturing output falls
Growth measured across the eurozone’s service and manufacturing sectors in the Markit purchasing managers’ index slowed much more than analysts had forecast, suggesting a rapid loss of momentum in the region’s economy.
WSJ | Debating Dodd-Frank: Is 'Too Big to Fail' Gone?
Regulators and administration officials argue that the law has effectively ended the phenomenon called "Too Big To Fail"—the idea that a company is so large and interconnected that its collapse could harm the whole financial system, essentially guaranteeing a bailout.
Bloomberg | U.S. Home Prices Decreased 6.3% in May From Previous 12 Months, FHFA Says
The decline was led by a 9.9 percent decrease in the region that includes California, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said today in a report from Washington. The second-largest drop was 9.2 percent in the area that includes Nevada and Arizona.
Bloomberg | U.S. Economic Indicators Post Meager Gain
The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.3 percent after a 0.8 percent gain in May, the New York-based research group said today.
Financial Times | Chinese manufacturing set to contract
The HSBC flash purchasing managers’ index for China, designed to provide an early snapshot of industrial conditions, has fallen to 48.9 in July, the lowest in 28 months. The final figure for this month will be published on August 1. A reading below 50 would denote a retrenchment in activity.
Market Watch | Social Security tools can help maximize benefits
One of the most critical decisions older Americans face is when to start their Social Security benefits.
WSJ | Business Blasts Ozone Limits
Trade Groups Warn White House That New EPA Curbs Would Choke Off Growth.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | DUFFY: Dodd-Frank: One year later
Promises are unfulfilled while the costs are real.
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Class warfare, Obama-style
Liberals have driven the debt-ceiling debate into the class-warfare swamp, promising most Americans they will continue to get something for nothing. This is a painless proposition for demagogues.
WSJ | The Danger of an Unaccountable 'Consumer-Protection' Czar
The SEC and FDIC are led by boards. Why should one person have sweeping powers over the economy?
Washington Times | MILLOY: Show us the bodies, EPA
Green agency uses phony death statistics to justify job-killing rules.
Washinton Times | GHEI: The crony-capitalist triumph
Dodd-Frank anniversary highlights dangers of socializing risk.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | U.S. Consumers May Cede Shopping Crown.
The growing split within the U.S. consumer sector isn’t simply a function of haves and have-nots, since that is a gap that’s been around since the pilgrims landed.
Calculated Risk | Philly Fed Survey: "Regional manufacturing remained weak in July"
The demand for manufactured goods, as measured by the current new orders index, improved from last month but suggests flat demand:
Heritage Foundation | Obamacare: No Prescription for Economic Recovery
The economy is recovering at an unusually slow pace. Typically, employment grows strongly after a severe recession. Not this time. Unemployment remains stuck above 9 percent more than two years after the recession officially ended. What is going on?
AEI: The American | Thanks to Regulatory Burdens, We’ve Got a Jobless and Creditless Recovery
There’s little disagreement that the U.S. labor market is struggling to create jobs in what is probably the worst “jobless recovery” in history.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo | Existing Home Sales Slide as Contract Cancellations Jump
Existing home sales fell 0.8 percent in June to a 4.77 million-unit pace. Contract cancelations spiked, likely reflecting the ongoing tug from unusually conservative appraisals and tight mortgage underwriting.
