News
CNN: Money | Recession worsens racial wealth gap
The study, from 2009 data compiled by the Pew Research Center, found the median wealth of white households was 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.
Bloomberg | Oil Rises as U.S. Debt Concern Weakens Dollar, Countering Demand Concern
Oil advanced as the U.S. President’s warning that the country’s debt stalemate may damage the economy weakened the dollar, boosting the appeal of commodities and countering concern that the crisis will hurt demand.
Fox News | Treasury secretary says economy may have slowed
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (GYT'-nur) says the economy may have slowed during the second quarter of the year, but he's looking for it to pick up.The economy grew at a rate of 1.9 percent from January to March. The April-to-June figures for the gross domestic product aren't yet in, but some economists have forecast them to be lower.Geithner says growth for the first half of 2011 will probably come in at 2 percent, perhaps even slightly lower.
Bloomberg | Roubini Sees Reduced Threat of Euro Breakup, Deflation in Advanced Nations
The risk of a breakup in the euro area is lower than a year ago, Nouriel Roubini, the economist who predicted the global financial crisis, said. The risk of deflation in advanced economies has also fallen, Roubini, the co-founder and chairman of New York-based Roubini Global Economics LLC, said at a conference in Shanghai today.
Market Watch | U.S. home prices rise for second month in May
U.S. home prices rose for a second straight month in May, according to data released Tuesday, though the gains could be more reflective of the new buying season than of revived demand in the struggling housing market.
Econ Comments
CNN: Money | Household debt reduction: We've only just begun
Consumers have made great strides in reducing their debts, but spending hasn't picked up. Is the borrow and spend mentality gone forever?
Washington Times | FEULNER: What really is poverty?
Most ‘poor’ are surprisingly well off.
WSJ | Twin Paralyzing Factors Keep Washington Divided
The inability, after eight months' warning, to agree on any plan to deal with deficits and raise the nation's debt ceiling isn't some freak accident. Instead, it is the logical culmination of two giant trends in American politics: an unresolved debate over the size of government and the growing hyper-partisanship of Congress, particularly the House of Representatives.
Blogs
Econlog | Resolving Financial Crises
Another challenge with today's debt crises is that there may no longer be a government with the credibility and desire to back a bank big enough to buy up all the shaky debt, which, may include the debt of a number of banks with exposure to sovereign debt.
Political Calculations | Charity in America: The Donors
Type the sentence(s) summarizing the link here.Who donated money to U.S. charities in 2010? And how much money did they give?
Heritage Foundation | Exporting Natural Gas Benefits America
Natural gas prices in the United States have been low in the past few years, and increased estimates in natural gas reserves from shale formations in Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana are opening opportunities to increase exports to other nations. In some countries, natural gas prices are three times as high as they are in the United States.
Financial Times | Regulators must risk more, and intervene less
Since the devastating Japanese earthquake and, earlier, the global financial tsunami, governments have been pressed to guarantee their populations against virtually all the risks exposed by those extremely low probability events. But should they? Guarantees require the building up of a buffer of idle resources that are not otherwise engaged in the production of goods and services. They are employed only if, and when, the crisis emerges.
Reports
Heritage Foundation | Red Tape Rising: A 2011 Mid-Year Report
Following a record year of rulemaking, the Obama Administration is continuing to unleash more costly red tape. In the first six months of the 2011 fiscal year, 15 major regulations were issued, with annual costs exceeding $5.8 billion and one-time implementation costs approaching $6.5 billion.
Heritage Foundation | Will Obama Ever Learn Economics from Reagan?
Type the sentence(s) summarizing the link here.Leading the nation through hard times wasn't easy. We'd like to suggest that President Obama take a closer look at how President Reagan dealt with that "economic hardship," and how he steered the nation toward what would turn into its longest peacetime economic expansion. It's a cautionary tale — one that involves the greatest domestic error of his administration.In 1981, President Reagan's plan for revitalizing the economy was a four-fold one:
