News
Market Watch | Foreclosure activity drops to 44-month low
Foreclosure filings fell to a 44-month low in July, according to RealtyTrac, but the company’s chief executive said processing delays continue to be the driving force behind the drop in foreclosure activity.
WSJ | Penny-Pinching Puts Recovery on Thin Ice
The past week's market meltdown is confirming what many business leaders and consumers were already thinking—that the economy is close to tilting back into recession and therefore they need to cling to every penny.
Market Watch | U.S. trade gap for June widens unexpectedly
The U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly in June, reaching its highest level in almost three years as the nation’s exports were held in check by the global slowdown, according to government data Thursday.
Fox News | Top 10 states by foreclosure rate, July
Here is a list of the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of this year. The ratio shows, for example, that one out of every 115 households in Nevada received a foreclosure notice in July. Also highlighted: The number of properties that received notices.
Econ Comments
Washington Post | America’s debt is not its biggest problem
Revenue increases may be part of the solution, but even then, at some imbalanced ratio of spending cuts — such as three or four dollars of spending cuts to one dollar of tax hikes — the thesis assumes that markets and economic growth require what in essence is a fiscally contractionary step, reminiscent of International Monetary Fund policies in emerging markets during past decades.
NYT | Where Will Growth Come From?
Never has the world economy depended so much on the success of developing nations. A misguided focus on budget cutting has plunged the European Union and the United States down paths that will prolong their economic stagnation and perhaps tip them into another recession.
WSJ | America as Less Than No. 1
The U.S. is far from finished. The private economy—from the biggest corporations to innumerable dreamers launching start-ups—is fit and eager. But make no mistake: The U.S. has taken a hard hit to its 65-year status as the world's pre-eminent nation.
Market Watch | Get used to slow economy, top forecaster says
The U.S. economy is idling at the side of the road, waiting for the usual drivers of recovery — housing and consumer spending — to catch up.
CNN: Money | China's banks: The only certainty is uncertainty
Figuring out the health of Chinese banks is a blind man's game, but the risks to the sector are unmistakably piling up.
Washington Times | NUGENT: Presidential master of economic disaster
Obama proves again that liberals precipitate financial free-fall.
Blogs
Financial Times | The ‘Made in China’ myth – it’s all American
Whereas goods labeled “Made in China” make up 2.7% of U.S. consumer spending, only 1.2% actually reflects the cost of the imported goods. Thus, on average, of every dollar spent on an item labeled “Made in China,” 55 cents go for services produced in the United States.
Heritage Foundation | The United States, Free Trade, and the Economics of Lost Opportunities
These agreements fell to the wayside in the midst of the debt ceiling debates; however, U.S. producers and workers have been feeling the pinch as other countries have already entered into FTAs with these nations.
