News
Market Watch | Housing starts show signs of life in October
Home construction is starting to show some small signs of improvement this fall, the latest government statistics released Thursday show.
CNN Money | The 1% more pessimistic about U.S. economy
Pessimism toward the U.S. economy -- particularly concerning the near future -- is rapidly growing among America's wealthy, according to the PNC Wealth and Values Survey released Wednesday.
USA Today | U.S. economy showing signs of life by several measures
U.S. industrial production rose in October at the fastest rate in three months. Factories made more trucks, electronics and business equipment, a sign that manufacturing is recovering after slowing this spring.
WSJ | Fitch's Warning Spooks Investors
In the latest sign of jittery markets racked by hair-trigger selling, investors on Wednesday took fright at a credit-firm report that contained little new information but warned of escalating risks facing U.S. banks in the European debt crisis.
Market Watch | Home-builder index hits best level in 17 months
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose in November to the highest level in 17 months — albeit to a still-weak level — as hope builds in the industry with mortgage rates around record lows.
USA Today | Gas prices likely to reach holiday high
Regular gas is likely to average $3.37 a gallon next week — up a whopping 51 cents over last Thanksgiving, according to price tracker GasBuddy.com. Adjusting for inflation, that's about 1 cent higher than 2007's previous holiday high of $3.08.
Econ Comments
Minyanville | Pick a Side or Stand Aside
The world sits at a critical crossroads.
Washington Times | DECKER & TRIPLETT: China’s ruling elite
The People’s Republic is run by an untouchable aristocratic oligarchy.
Politico | Congress must stay in session
We were sent here to do the American people’s business and we haven’t. What are the great accomplishments of the 112th Congress?
Blogs
Political Calculations | The 2011 Microrecession in U.S.-China Trade Data
To put it bluntly, the falling value of the dollar is making it relatively more expensive to buy imports from China than it was a year ago. And that's why U.S. port traffic is down, and U.S. port employees are working less, even though the U.S. appears to be spending more money on Chinese imports this year as compared to last.
Café Hayek | Keynes and Consumption
I have no time to do an exegesis of Keynes and the Keynesians in order to distinguish the nuances of serious Keynesianism from the vulgar Keynesianism that has been around for at least as long as mercantilism; that has never died out; that thrives today.
AEI: The American | The case for exploding income inequality continues to crumble
It’s becoming clear to me that the media and left-of-center bloggers will only cite studies that support the idea that a) U.S. income inequality is going supernova, and b) the American middle-class has stagnated for the past 30 years.
USA Today | Obama seeks to double auto fuel economy by 2025
In an historic move to boost fuel efficiency, the Obama administration proposed Wednesday to nearly double the required miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks by 2025.
Café Hayek | An Asymmetry
The point, rather, is to provide background for asking why the free-rider, collective-action, externality problems that are regularly identified as sufficient reason for restricting the role and scope of markets are so seldom identified as reasons for restricting the role and scope of government.
Minyanville | This Isn't the Economic Recovery We've Been Waiting For
This current recovery isn't better than the previous one, but it sure is different.
