News
CNN Money | Greek economy stuck in a rut
As Greece continues to try to push through tough austerity measures to secure desperately needed bailout funds, the bad news just keeps piling up.
WSJ | Euro-Zone Economy Shrinks
The euro-zone economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2011 for the first time since the second quarter of 2009 as nine of the bloc's 17 member states posted a fall, underscoring forecasts for more of the same in 2012 as fiscal austerity continues to bite.
Market Watch | Euro-zone GDP contracts 0.3% in fourth quarter
Gross domestic product across the 17-nation euro zone contracted by 0.3% in the final three months of 2011 compared to the previous quarter
Bloomberg | European Leaders ‘Confident’ Greece Meeting Bailout Demands
Germany and the European Commission welcomed Greek approval of the austerity steps demanded for a financial lifeline, suggesting euro finance chiefs will pull Greece back from the brink when they meet in two days.
Politico | 'All-in' energy policy: Will coal be buried?
The industry landed a huge victory in 2010 with the demise of climate change legislation. But despite that win, and the Obama administration’s vocal support for an “all in” energy policy that includes a mix of new and traditional energy resources, a variety of forces is pushing coal back to the brink.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Washington's Knack for Picking Losers
Like the mythical monster Hydra—who grew two heads every time Hercules cut one off—President Obama, in both his State of the Union address and his new budget, has defiantly doubled down on his brand of industrial policy
Politico | Small-business owners fear health care costs
Almost half of small-business owners in the U.S. who are not hiring new employees say worries about the potential cost of health care and new government regulations are the reasons they are not hiring, according to a new Gallup Poll released Wednesday.
AEI | Seven steps needed to improve housing finance
This is of course Pharaoh's famous troubling dream, which Joseph correctly interpreted as meaning there would be seven good years followed by seven bad years -a dream highly relevant to 21st century housing finance.
Heritage Foundation | Delayed Recovery Historically Slow
In his State of the Union address on January 24, President Barack Obama argued that the U.S. economy is roaring back. He pointed to 22 consecutive months of private-sector job growth and the fastest net private-sector job creation since 2005.
WSJ | Ready for Another Rotten Highway Bill?
The Congressional Budget Office now estimates that our national debt could nearly double over the next 10 years—to an astounding $29.4 trillion from $15 trillion today—so you might think Washington would be looking to stop the fiscal train wreck. You'd be wrong.
Politico | White House's manufacturing math may not add up
President Barack Obama is promising new factory jobs that he can’t really deliver — even the companies on his own jobs council have shrunk their workforce.
Washington Times | Downgrading Europe
As the smoke cleared from another weekend of riots in Athens, more gloom descended on Europe.
Forbes | Auction the Spectrum, Grow the Economy
It seems like a century, but just 16 years have passed since President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Blogs
WSJ | Economists React: Euro Zone GDP ‘Could Have Been Worse’
The euro-zone economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2011 by 0.3%, marking the first decline since the second quarter of 2009, as the euro crisis and deep downturns in peripheral countries weighed on growth.
The American | When economies go bad…
America’s Great Recession was pretty bad. GDP fell by 5.1 percent. The narrowest measure of unemployment more than doubled to 10 percent. Real disposable personal income fell 7.3 percent.
WSJ | Odd Retail Data Aren’t as Worrying as Rising Gas Prices
Data released Tuesday showed shoppers were less responsive to retailers’ come-ons in December and January. Retail sales increased just 0.4% in January, less than the 0.9% forecast.
Daily Capitalist | Is This Recovery? Part I
There is a lot of good news to buoy the markets and give cheer to the public. We hear that new jobless claims are down another 15,000 to 358,000, the ninth week of declines out of the last ten, finally breaking below the 400,000 mark
WSJ | Fed’s Kocherlakota Offers Economic Projections
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Narayana Kocherlakota said Tuesday he expects the U.S. to grow at an annual rate between 2.5% and 3.0% over the next two years.
Political Calculations | What's Driving U.S. Fuel Efficiency?
We recently tapped the U.S. Department of Transportation's Traffic Volume Trends report to use the data it provides on the total miles accumulated by Americans on the nation's roads as a measure of the health of the U.S. economy
