News
NY Times | Geithner Says U.S. Economy Showing Signs of Expansion
The nation’s economy shows signs of expansion but still faces tough challenges that call for measures to create jobs to help restore fiscal sustainability, the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, said on Thursday.
CNN Money | Is the bond bubble finally bursting?
Despite this year's solid move in stocks, investors had mostly been staying in Treasuries, considered one of the safest bets during times of economic uncertainty. Until this week, that is.
Market Watch | U.S. industrial output flat in February
The output of the nation's factories, mines and utilities was flat in February, the Federal Reserve said Friday. This was well below Wall Street expectations of a 0.4% gain.
Politico | Oil, gas data fuel new arguments
The latest federal data on oil and gas production offer ammunition to both the White House and its critics on whether the Obama administration is out to squelch American-bred energy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Regulation and Obama’s numbers game
Statistics, they say, is the art of torturing numbers until they confess. If so, they must have a rack built somewhere in the White House.
WSJ | Greece Is Making Historic Reforms
The Greek government, the leaders of the EU, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed on a landmark economic adjustment program geared toward strengthening Greece's institutional capacity, improving competitiveness, and creating sustainable growth.
Washington Times | Rosy headlines obscure some troubling trends
The data flow picked up this past week, but much like what we saw with the Bureau of Labor Statistics take on February employment, the headline was far rosier than what was found upon sifting through the data in greater detail.
WSJ | What's Behind Rising Gas Prices?
As in the 2008 presidential election—remember the chants of "Drill, baby, drill!"—rising oil and gasoline prices have become an issue in 2012.
Freeman Online | The Parable of the Broken Traffic Lights
When the central bank intervenes, however, it turns all the lights green. Expansionary monetary policy provides loanable funds to banks, which enables them to lower rates as if there were more saving. However, that saving is an illusion
Washington Times | More stimulus?
Add Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz to the list of those who somehow think the economy just hasn’t had enough stimulus from Washington.
Blogs
Economist | The worst of all worlds
America’s economy is a mosaic of puzzles and contradictions that has economists and bloggers scrambling for explanations and scrutinizing the data for quirks and flaws. Lately, I’ve been thinking dark thoughts: what if all it takes is a single explanation that assumes all the data are correct?
Calculated Risk | CoreLogic: 69,000 completed foreclosures in January 2012
CoreLogic® Reports More Than 860,000 Completed Foreclosures Nationally in the Last Twelve Months
Big Picture | Why ECRI’s Recession Call Stands
Many have questioned why, in the face of improving economic data, ECRI has maintained its recession call. The straight answer is that the objective economic indicators we monitor, including those we make public, give us no other choice.
