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Friday, August 19, 2011

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Data Signals Trouble for Economy
New economic data signaled that manufacturing, which had been showing strength, may soon join other indicators in pointing down. The Fed is certainly watching but they are not yet ready to pull the trigger on another quantitative easing program.
CNBC | Fed's Fisher: Washington Must Do More For Economy
The Fed has done its job of providing cash and liquidity to help the market, but thanks to uncertainty and confusion in Washington that money is sitting on the sidelines, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Larry Kudlow Thursday.
Market Watch | Leading indicators up, modest growth seen
The economy should expand at a “modest pace” through the fall, the Conference Board said Thursday as it reported that its index of leading economic indicators grew 0.5% in July.
Bloomberg | Banks Lower U.S. Economic Growth Forecasts
Citigroup Inc. (C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) cut their U.S. growth forecasts as the global economy slows and officials struggle to stem Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis.
WSJ | Treasury Yields Fall to Historic Lows as Stocks Plunge
For at least 50 years, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yielded nothing lower than 2%—until Thursday. The yield sank to 1.9872% in early trading on Thursday, the first time it has hit that level since at least the 1960s, based on St. Louis Federal Reserve records. Before that, comparisons become murky.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Daily Caller | Obamanomics:’ Stimulating unemployment, inflation and despair
Barack Obama’s prescription to this ongoing malaise? A perpetuation of the policies responsible for creating it – more borrowing, more spending and more debt (as well as a healthy dose of finger-pointing in the direction of anyone opposing him).
Washington Times | GHEI: The free trade lesson
The world learned at least one lesson from the Great Depression. Despite today’s economic gloom which has spread from the United States to Europe and now Asia, no major player has moved to introduce protectionist policies or impose capital controls on a large scale.
WSJ | The Tea Party's Achilles' Heel
A posture of bold fiscal conservatism simply isn't compatible with timid evasions on Medicare reform.
Washington Times | SCHNEIDER: Converted to the U.S.-Colombia FTA cause
New president’s human rights reforms should be rewarded.
WSJ | Why Americans Hate Economics
In university classrooms—and especially the Obama White House—fancy theories of macroeconomics defy basic common sense.
CNN: Money | Will Europe come tumbling down?
The debt crisis that started in Greece now threatens to topple the whole continent -- and kill the weak recovery in the U.S. Inside the race against the clock to fix the euro economy.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Heritage Foundation | Tales of the Red Tape #18: Americans Take a Regulatory Bleating
For 60 years, in fact, the federal government has actually regulated sheep and goat shepherds to ensure that nonimmigrant foreign workers don’t dare deprive Americans of the job. The U.S. Department of Labor issued a revised set of rules on August 4 (Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 32-10).

News                                                                                                                             
RCM: Wells Fargo | Leading Index Signals More Growth—Should You Buy It?
The Leading Economic Index posted another monthly gain, signaling continued growth. But, given the boost to the index by the money supply and the yield spread, does this really signal fair skies ahead?