News
WSJ | S&P Affirms Japan Rating
Standard & Poor's Corp. on Monday reaffirmed Japan's sovereign-debt rating at double-A-minus and maintained its negative outlook, a move that leaves Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda under pressure to deliver on tax increases to improve the country's dire fiscal position.
Washington Times | Gas prices are highest ever for this time of year
At $3.53 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1. And experts say they could reach a record $4.25 a gallon by late April.
WSJ | Japan Posts Largest Trade Deficit on Record
Japan posted a record merchandise trade deficit in January, as a global economic slowdown and the strong yen hurt exports, while fuel imports continued to increase.
CNN Money | Manufacturing: Not a magic pill for the economy
Today, in the midst of an even deeper and more prolonged recession, the 1980s debate about whether manufacturing matters is front and center.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Economist | Too big not to fail
Flaws in the confused, bloated law passed in the aftermath of America’s financial crisis become ever more apparent
WSJ | Mortgage Settlement Or Mortgage Shakedown?
The $25 billion mortgage settlement negotiated on Feb. 9 by the administration and 49 state attorneys general with five big banks has been greeted with considerable political suspicion.
Washington Times | Onerous effects of overregulation
High taxes draw a lot of attention, and rightly so. They depress investment and discourage innovation. But escalating regulatory costs also undermine our economy.
Daily Caller | Home Heating Oil Delivery
Just when the good economic news of the last few months was beginning to sink in, the nation’s newspapers are full of headlines about rising gas prices.
Washington Times | Obama’s gas-price spike
Here we go again. Gasoline prices are rising rapidly and already have shattered the $4-a-gallon mark in California. Industry analysts say the all-time national average record of $4.11 could be shattered this summer.
Investor | Obama Stimulus Turns Three: What Has It Achieved?
Without any fanfare whatsoever from the White House, February 17 marks the three-year anniversary of the day President Obama signed the much ballyhooed stimulus into law.
Financial Post | Irrational behaviourists
With governments from Athens to Queen’s Park struggling under unsustainable debt and productivity-killing taxes, regulations and social policies, this hardly seems to be the time to suggest new policy initiatives based on the “irrationality” of the man in the street.
Forbes | Toward a True Free Market in Television Programming
There’s a common myth heard frequently in communications policy circles that America’s video marketplace was largely deregulated in the 1980’s and ‘90s, and that we now have a free market nirvana.
CATO | State and Local Pension Plans: Funding Status, Asset Management, and a Look Ahead
State and local employee pension plans, which are primarily defined benefit plans, have come under increased scrutiny of late.
Blogs
Calculated Risk | Schedule for Week of February 19th
The key reports this week are the January existing home sales report on Wednesday and the new home sales report on Friday. The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for January will also be released on Wednesday.
CATO | The USA And Europe: A Graphical Status Report
The ability to interpret and understand economic data in terms of patterns, relationships, connections and structures that are likely to prevail in the future is critical if we are to make sound economic decisions today.
Calculated Risk | Unofficial Problem Bank list declines to 956 Institutions
This is an unofficial list of Problem Banks compiled only from public sources.
CATO | Local Governments Also To Blame For Housing Crisis
Whether it is federal mortgage subsidies, like Fannie Mae, or reduced interest rates via loose monetary policy, these policies increase the demand for housing by allowing, and encouraging, more buyers to enter the market. As I’ve written in more detail elsewhere, this narrative ignores the supply side of the market.
