News
WSJ | Retail Sales Move Higher
U.S. retail sales rose in July as consumers spent more on gasoline, electronics and other merchandise, potentially easing concerns that Americans are pulling back as unemployment remains high and the economy shaky.
Bloomberg | Growth Forecasts for U.S. Reduced Through 2013 on Limited Employment Gains
The world’s largest economy will expand at an average 2.3 percent annual rate in the second half of the year, about a percentage point less than projected last month, according to the median forecast of 53 economists polled from Aug. 2 to Aug. 10.
WSJ | Greek Economy Shrinks by 6.9%
Greece's gross domestic product contracted by an annual rate of 6.9% in the second quarter of the year, compared with a negative rate of 8.1% in the first three months of the year, the country's statistics service said Friday.
National Journal | 15 Ways to Jump-Start Economic Growth: Spending Money Edition
With markets trampolining up and down, Washington lawmakers appear to be getting the message that the U.S. economy needs more help—specifically, a renewed push for job creation.
Bloomberg | Euro-Region Industrial Production Fell in June
European industrial production unexpectedly fell in June and France’s economy stalled in the second quarter, adding to signs that growth is losing momentum as governments struggle to contain the debt crisis.
Econ Comments
WSJ | The Borzi Savings Bomb
An Obama appointee concocts a fictional crisis that will have real costs.
CNN: Money | Don't listen to recession forecasters
Economists say the odds are against a double dip recession, but remember 2008? They've been very wrong before.
AEI | World War II and the Start of the Economic Recovery
In short, the root of prosperity was the same then as now: private capital formation and investment, not consumer or government spending.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | U.S. Trade on the Rise in 2011
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) today reported that U.S. trade volume for the first six months of the year was 15.7 percent higher in 2011 than 2010. Exports and imports were both up nearly 16 percent.
Cato @ Liberty | Terminating the Small Business Administration
Established in 1953, the agency had earned the nickname “Small Scandal Administration” by the mid-70s. President Reagan’s budget director, David Stockman, called it a “billion dollar waste—a rat hole” that benefited few small businesses, while distorting credit markets.
