News
CNN Money | State of the Union: 4 things to look for
Economic terms, including "tax," "spend" and "jobs" are among the most frequently used words in recent State of the Union speeches. In 2009, Obama used the word "economy" a total of 23 times in his unofficial address. In 2010, that number dropped to 15, before falling to 7 mentions last year.
Market Watch | Japan’s central bank cuts economic forecast
The Bank of Japan Tuesday cut its economic growth forecasts through fiscal 2012, while keeping its interest-rate target unchanged.
CNN Money | Has Obama's housing policy failed?
President Obama is expected to once again offer ways to help the beleaguered housing market in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night. But don't look for Obama to announce any major new initiatives.
Market Watch | Investors eagerly eye U.S. foreclosure rental plan
Matt Martin, CEO of Matt Martin Real Estate Management, is eagerly awaiting the introduction of a program that the Obama administration hopes will transform foreclosed properties into rehabilitated rental units and kick-start the economy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
AEI | FHA Watch, January 2012
The FHA continues to expand and crowd out the private sector. It is guaranteeing more high-risk loans than low-risk ones, has close to one million mortgages in its foreclosure pipeline, and is permitted to project its financial health using accounting rules based on rosy projections extending decades into the future, all the while ignoring that it is already insolvent and needs a bailout to the tune of tens of billions of dollars by any reasonable accounting standard.
Washington Times | State of the Union 2012: Losing the future
In 2011, President Obama pledged to help the United States win the future. Now that the future has arrived, Mr. Obama will have a hard time explaining why we are losing it.
WSJ | A Hazard of Fortunes
The Federal Reserve policy of holding interest rates low to minimize the cost of federal profligacy is giving managers of pension funds a multi-billion-dollar headache. The return-on-investment targets of 7% to 8% that are structured into pension plans are beyond reach in today's artificial environment.
Atlantic | Making It in America
In the past decade, the flow of goods emerging from U.S. factories has risen by about a third. Factory employment has fallen by roughly the same fraction. The story of Standard Motor Products, a 92-year-old, family-run manufacturer based in Queens, sheds light on both phenomena.
American | Snapshot of a Creative Destruction
Eastman Kodak, one of the iconic American companies for most of the 20th century, likewise rose to greatness on the basis of a new technology. Now, apparently, it will die because of another.
NY Post | Corporations and citizens have become addicted to handouts — turning America into a nation of moochers
Woe, in other words, to the United States in 2012, an orgy of corporate welfare, cronyism, subsidies, handouts and bailouts. Economists call those who game the system for income they haven’t earned “rent seekers.”
Forbes | China Is 175.6% Dependent on the U.S.
Commerce Department figures show that, through the first 11 months of last year, China’s trade surplus against the United States was $272.3 billion. That’s up from $252.4 billion for the same period in 2010, a 7.9% increase.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Obama’s New “Fairness Doctrine” and the American Ideal
“Economic fairness” is expected to be the topic of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, during which he will likely sound the same populist notes of progressivism that America heard last month in his speech in Osawatomie, Kansas.
Marginal Revolution | A good paper and model of (part of) the financial crisis
Short-term collateralized debt, private money, is efficient if agents are willing to lend without producing costly information about the collateral backing the debt.
National Review | SOTU: Are You Ready for More Fake Promises and Wishful Thinking?
What can we expect tomorrow night? The answer is: More of the same. Here is a list of things that the president will promise to do and their true meaning.
