News
USA Today | Economists hold sizable role in determining EU's future
As leaders of the European Union meet this week to try to resolve Europe's debt crisis, economists will play a major role in the success or failure of efforts to prevent the region from lapsing into a deep recession.
Politico | Poll: 3/4 say don't reelect Congress
Seventy-six percent of respondents said most members of Congress do not deserve to be reelected, while just 20 percent said they deserve to be sent back to office.
National Journal | Keystone XL Pipeline: Just the Facts
The Keystone XL pipeline is a 1,700-mile, $7 billion project that would bring 700,000 barrels of carbon-heavy tar-sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast. It would be an extension of a pipeline that became operational in June 2010 and already carries crude oil from Alberta to Illinois and Oklahoma.
Market Watch | Trade deficit narrows to $43.5 billion in Oct.
Smallest gap this year, but Q3 GDP may be downwardly revised.
Politico | European downgrade could squelch U.S. recovery
Right as the U.S. economy has finally shown signs of steadying itself, a Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Europe could kick the legs out of the recovery.
CNN: Money | Household wealth takes biggest hit since '08
The Federal Reserve said the net worth of households fell by $2.2 trillion, or 4.1%, to end at $57.4 trillion. The decline comes to about $7,800 for every U.S. resident.
Econ Comments
WSJ | How the U.S. Can Help Europe: Just Say No
The greatest threat to our economy is not the debt crisis across the pond, but the one right here on American soil.
WSJ | Europe's Growth Deficit
The Continent tries to tax its way back to prosperity.
Cato Institution | Income Inequality Data Has Flaws
Far too many policymakers, analysts, and reporters assume that the data showing rising inequality is carved in stone, but it isn’t.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Vital Signs: Student, Car Loans Lead Rise in Borrowing
U.S. consumers increased their borrowing in October. Overall consumer credit outstanding rose $7.6 billion from September to $2.457 trillion.
Political Calculations | Scheduling the Next U.S. Recession
Thanks to the Fed's excursion into Zero Interest Rate Policy (aka "ZIRP"), we can't use our dedicated tool that reckons the odds of a recession up to a year in the future.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Economists React: No Silver Bullet From ECB
The ECB said in its monthly policy remarks Thursday that it will make two offers of unlimited 36-month credit to euro-zone banks; will cut its reserve requirement for commercial banks to 1% from 2%; and will widen the pool of assets it accepts as collateral for ECB loans to ensure easier access to funds for banks. It also cut its key rate to 1%.
AEI: The American | Obama’s economic plan? Back to the ’70s!
Obama clearly thinks the “last few decades” have been a disaster for the U.S. economy, that America’s 30-year economic experiment in enhanced economic freedom—lower tax rates, less regulation, freer trade—has been a failure.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Unrealized Assumptions Could Alter 2012 Forecasts
The 54 economists see a 2.3% expansion for 2012, compared with an expected rate of 1.7% for 2011. Although an improvement, that isn’t fast enough to tame unemployment. On average, they see that rate still at 8.5% in December 2012, compared with the 8.6% reported in November this year.
NRO: The Corner | Private vs. Public Sector Pensions
Few who don’t work for the government sector have comparable assets. Over the last several decades, the private sector has moved increasingly to the 401(k)-style “defined contribution” model, which yields a retirement nest egg based on what both employers and employees have contributed to individual accounts.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Equity Gap: Companies Looking to Issue Stocks May Find Too Few Buyers by 2020
We have the gender gap and the income gap. Prepare for the equity gap.
Reports
NBER | How Did the Recession of 2007-2009 Affect the Wealth and Retirement of the Near Retirement Age Population in the Health and Retirement Study?
This paper uses asset and labor market data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to investigate how the recent "Great Recession" has affected the wealth and retirement of those in the population who were just approaching retirement age at the beginning of the recession, a potentially vulnerable segment of the working age population.
