News
Market Watch | Road to U.S. recovery goes through Rome
The U.S. economy is huffing and puffing, but at least it’s moving in the right direction. Not so in Europe, and that poses a problem on both sides of the Atlantic.
CNN Money | Retail sales: Consumers still spending
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales were up 0.5% compared to September, just above the 0.4% forecast of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Excluding auto sales, retail sales shot up 0.6%, three times stronger than expected.
WSJ | Euro Zone Ekes Out Growth
The euro-zone economy grew at a meager pace in the three months to the end of September, aided by pickups in consumer spending in Germany and France.
Market Watch | ‘Put-back’ relief at center of HARP mortgage fix
Lenders hoping they won’t need to repurchase faulty mortgages when they refinance home-loans are focusing on a new Obama administration effort that wants to help them out.
WSJ | Data Help China's Case for Yuan
A key measure of China's surplus with the outside world fell sharply in the third quarter, adding to evidence that the country is rebalancing away from dependence on exports and undermining the case for faster yuan appreciation.
Econ Comments
LA Times | California — toxic for business
Unless Sacramento moves to improve the business climate, California's reputation as one of the country's most toxic business environments will make it hard for the Golden State to regain its luster.
Washington Times | RAHN: Rich China, poor China
Reds’ refusal to share prosperity with underclass jeopardizes future.
WSJ | Is South Korea Headed for Trouble?
Politics are shifting leftward and birthrates are plummeting. Japanese-style malaise could be the result.
RCM | Generation Zero: An Obnoxious Repeat Of GenX
"Generation X" was the blanket adjective foisted on college graduates of the early ‘90s period, and with the U.S. economy still on weak footing following the 1990-91 recession, conventional wisdom said my supposed crowd had menial labor of the clothes-folding variety to look forward to, and that we wouldn't live better than the relatively well-to-do parents who had conceived us.
Cato Institute | Tariff Lesson for Obama – and Us
The US should follow Australia's example in dealing with protectionist pressures. United States President Barack Obama will pay a long overdue visit to Australia this week. Hopefully, his hosts will shed light on Australia's trade policy history, which is instructive for US policy.
WSJ | China and the Rules of Trade
Obama is frustrated with China but makes the wrong demands.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | First-time Homebuyers Tax Credit Shows Government Can’t Fix Housing
Government programs cannot stop the decline in housing prices. The latest evidence of this comes from a study of first-time homebuyers who took advantage of an $8,000 tax credit available between 2009 and September 2010.
Calculated Risk | State by state exports to Europe
Here is a map from the referenced report by economist Mark Vitner and Michael Brown at Wells Fargo. The map shows European exports as a percent of state GDP.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Vital Signs: Home Heating Costs to Decline
Home heating costs for many Americans will be lower this year. Natural gas futures closed on Friday at $3.58 for a million British thermal units, down 20% from early June. In a typical November.
ThinkMarkets | Energy Policy vs. Market
No matter how thoroughly public policy fails, there is no end to efforts in the same area. Energy is a case in point. Reviewing the history of US energy policy in his new book, Columbia University legal scholar Michael Graetz writes: “The book is, then, in one sense a story of failure…”
Political Calculations | Income Inequality by Age Group in 2010
We see that the level of income inequality drops dramatically for adults between the ages of 25 and 34, which corresponds to individuals who have fully entered into their careers. The amount of income inequality by age group then increases through Age 65-74.
