News
USA Today | Minimum wage rates may climb this year
At least 17 states recently raised the minimum wage or are considering doing so in 2012, the most in at least six years.
CNN Money | Nevada's triple economic whammy
The Silver State, which will hold the Republican caucus on Saturday, has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in unemployment, foreclosure filings and share of homes worth less than the mortgages on them.
FOX News | US service industry growth surges in January
The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its index of non-manufacturing activity jumped to 56.8 percent in January from 53 percent in December.
Bloomberg | Euro-Area Manufacturing, Services Expand
European services and factory output strengthened in January, led by growth in Germany and France, as the region’s leaders sought a solution to the debt crisis.
CNN Money | Small firms want more from Obama's U.S. manufacturing plan
A new Obama administration push to strengthen U.S. manufacturing has the support of smaller firms, but it might not be enough to stir many into action.
Politico | Private-equity firms gird for attacks
Private-equity firms, preparing for a tough year of attacks in the presidential race and by Capitol Hill Democrats, are launching an education campaign designed to mitigate the damage and improve the industry's image.
Market Watch | U.S. factory orders up 1.1% in December
Factory orders rose 1.1% in December, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 1.4% rise. But the report was bolstered by an upward revision to November
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | America's Flawed, Outdated, Trade Policy
Over the last several decades, the character of international trade has changed dramatically. Drastic advances in communication and information technologies have allowed businesses to slice the production process into pieces which are then located in their most efficient locations.
Investors | Obama’s Promised Regulatory Reforms Are A Joke
Last August, regulatory czar Cass Sunstein announced rule changes to supposedly "save U.S. businesses billions of dollars in regulatory burdens." But contrary to his assertions, the regulatory review that led to these changes was neither "unprecedentedly ambitious" nor likely to have a significant effect on the economy.
Real Clear Markets | Defending Capitalism from Inequality Hokum
Inequality happens. It is inevitable in a political system such as ours. The "division of labor" inherently reflects different desires and different outcomes in earnings. Free people are precisely that-and they are free to choose their profession.
AEI | America's flawed, outdated trade policy
Drastic advances in communication and information technologies have allowed businesses to slice the production process into pieces which are then located in their most efficient locations.
Politico | Infrastructure's long, long road
GOP leaders insist they will bring their energy-expanding and road-building plan to the floor this month, but it’s clear they have a ways to go before uniting the Republican Conference.
Blogs
Café Hayek | More British “austerity”
The government elected last spring in the United Kingdom committed itself to rapidly reducing the size of its deficit. This government austerity was supposed to give a big boost to the private sector.
Coordination Problem | Capable, but Fallible Actors; Orderly, yet Inefficient Systems
To my mind, one of the really serious problems with modern economic thought is to confuse the concept of rational action with 'correct action', and to conflate the orderly coordination of the market economy with the perfect dovetailing of plans that defines an equilibrium state of affairs.
Library of Economics | Concerns with the CBO
In its overall budget forecasting, the CBO offers a useful check on politicians of both parties. I admit to being a big fan of the CBO for that reason.
WSJ | Geithner Defends Dodd-Frank, Pledges Housing Moves
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law against mounting attacks on Thursday, the latest in a series of moves by the Obama administration to push ahead with its signature Wall Street overhaul.
National Review | Obama's Regulatory Record
At first I was impressed by what seemed to be the president’s admission that the financial crisis wasn’t caused by deregulation. But then I wondered whether his statement was correct.
Heritage Foundation | Economic Inequality: Does Unequal Wealth Cause Hardship for the Poor?
In a functioning market economy, however, the total amount of income is decidedly not static. Societies can generate new income. If someone’s slice of the economic pie gets bigger, therefore, that doesn’t mean another person’s slice gets smaller.
