News
Market Watch | U.S. economy to muddle along, top forecaster says
The euro crisis is exerting a powerful drag on the U.S. economy, sowing fear and uncertainty in an environment that already has plenty of both. Nonetheless, one top forecaster expects the American economy to continue to muddle along.
USA Today | Out-of-state retirement slows down
Aging Baby Boomers who dreamed of retiring in the sun near Florida beaches or Arizona deserts have hit a speed bump: the bad economy.
Politico | Eurozone’s economic woes could topple U.S. recovery
One false move could cause the building blocks of the global economy to tumble down, perhaps knocking out the shaky American recovery in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign. U.S. officials have few options beyond carefully monitoring bank holdings and applying diplomatic pressure to their European counterparts.
Washington Times | Canadian urges quick decision on new pipeline route
Alberta’s premier said the Obama administration should speed up a decision after the Canadian pipeline developer agreed to shift the route of the massive $7 billion Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil pipeline out of an environmentally sensitive area of Nebraska.
National Journal | Energy Insiders: Keystone XL Pipeline Will Be Built
After the Obama administration pushed back approval of the project last Thursday pending a reroute in Nebraska, it was declared all but dead both by opponents celebrating victory and by many pipeline proponents mourning its purported demise. But when the dust settles, 64 percent of Insiders say, the $7 billion pipeline project will move forward.
CNN Money | Will FHA be the next big government bailout?
Continued trouble in the housing market has further eroded the Federal Housing Administration's reserves, leaving it with a very thin cushion to protect it against future financial losses.
WSJ | Turmoil Spreads in Europe
Bond Market Selloff Hits Nations Seen as Healthy, Raising Specter of Contagion.
Washington Times | Trade pact with U.S. stalls in Seoul
A major free-trade pact with the United States that was supposed to be a slam dunk has run into unexpected trouble here.
Econ Comments
WSJ | The President's Venture Capitalist
Steven Chu, Solyndra and the political allocation of capital.
Forbes | What's Behind The Obama Administration's Assault On Private Investment?
That blunt question comes to mind after the Obama administration’s decision to block the $13 billion expansion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. If it were an isolated incident, perhaps it wouldn’t matter all that much. But consider it in the context of the Administration’s recent pattern of hostility to private sector investments.
Washington Post | Will anyone rescue Europe from its economic crisis?
Amid Europe’s economic turmoil, a question nags: Where is the IMF? Created in 1945 — and reflecting the breakdown of global cooperation in the Great Depression — the International Monetary Fund was intended to prevent a few countries’ problems from dragging down the world economy.
Politico | Expressway to economic growth
For decades, all levels of government have neglected our infrastructure. For two years, Congress has failed in one of our fundamental responsibilities — long-term reauthorization of our nation’s highway and transit programs.
Washington Times | BECKNER: Big labor is real enemy of the 99 percent
Since the class-warfare message of the Occupy Wall Street protests started nearly two months ago, the two largest teachers unions, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), have taken every chance possible to stand in solidarity with the group of mostly underemployed college students and left-leaning activists.
Investors.com | Is U.S. 'Lazy' On Investment?
The Obama administration has a record of making life miserable for foreign investors that put their capital on the line to create jobs in the U.S.
Forbes | Crony Capitalism: The Inevitable Outcome Of Overreaching Government
What leads anyone to believe that unconstrained power can be channeled in ways that don’t favor the politically connected? And why are the politicians who repeatedly put out the slop troughs, then theatrically rail against the pigs, rarely penalized at the polls?
RCM | Transformation Through Trade Agreements
Last week Tokyo was all abuzz about trade. Protesters were demonstrating in front of the Diet, talk show debates raged about the perils and prospects of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and everyone waited to see what the relatively new Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, would decide to do.
Blogs
Econlog | How Sticky Are Nominal Wages?
Since the financial crisis, productivity growth has been pretty good, and it has exceeded real wage growth, which has been zero. Of course, you can always rescue the AD story by saying that, well, wage growth should have been even less, because of weak AD.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Vital Signs: Japan Bounces Back
Japan’s economy has bounced back. The nation’s gross domestic product grew 6% in the third quarter, at an annual rate, from the second; in the three previous quarters it contracted.
The Telegraph | Paul Krugman is rewriting history now that the eurozone, beloved by US liberals, is going down in flames
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is right about one thing, when he says: “now, with Italy falling off a cliff, it’s hard to see how the euro can survive at all”.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | WSJ: Real Time Economics Keynes vs. Hayek? Bullard Knows Which One Floats His Boat
The economic and financial tumult of recent years, and governments’ reaction to it, have left the economics community to deal with a fundamental question.
NY Times | The Sharp Increase in the Food Stamps Program
The poor economy is not the only reason that safety-net programs are spending more. The food stamp program is another example of a safety-net program that is significantly more costly than it was before the recession began.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | WSJ: Real Time Economics Shoppers May Surprise Cautious Retailers
The shopping-bag brigade was on the march last month. Retail sales increased a better-than-expected 0.5% in October. Early November retail reports are also positive.
Reports
CBO | Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2012 and 2013
Reductions in taxes and increases in government spending would produce short-term economic benefits—but without offsetting actions to reverse the accumulation of government debt, future output and future incomes would tend to be lower than they otherwise would have been.
