News
WSJ | Firms' Cash Hoarding Stunts Europe
Banks are struggling to rebuild capital and repair the damage wrought by poor lending and investment decisions they made before the financial crisis, and are wary about new lending.
Bloomberg | German Ifo Business Confidence Unexpectedly Increases
German business confidence unexpectedly rose to an eight-month high in March, suggesting Europe’s largest economy will return to growth even as the sovereign debt crisis curbs euro-area demand for its exports.
Econ Comments & Analysis
AEI | Caricature of how Republicans see the financial crisis
Sir, Edward Luce's description of the competing views in the US about both the financial crisis and a supposed "crisis of capitalism" was a caricature, particularly his discussion of the view he ascribed to the Republicans
Investors | Obama Creates a Nation of Food Stamp Dependents
Dependency: When New Gingrich called President Obama "the best food stamp president in American history," the media pooh-poohed it. But, in fact, Obama has aggressively pushed dependence on government for food.
Forbes | How to Contain a Financial Crisis Without Bailouts
Four years after the fall of Bear Stearns our fallback policy in a crisis is just as it was in 2008: rely on emergency, ad hoc lending by the Fed. We should not settle for this approach.
Daily Finance | The Complete Overhaul Social Security Needs to Survive
In this DailyFinance exclusive, two retirement experts propose dramatically different solutions to the Social Security crisis. Below, Chuck Saletta weighs in.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | An Alternative Energy Efficiency Program
Adding to a long list of energy-efficiency legislation, two Members of Congress—David B. McKinley (R–WV) and Peter Welch (D–VT)—recently proposed a federal energy-efficiency bill that gives tax rebates to homeowners who make energy-saving improvements to their homes. This bill and its predecessors reward consumers for saving money.
CATO | Red Team, Blue Team, and Gas Prices
Pretty clear Red Team/Blue Team answers. Republicans in 2006 accepted that there wasn’t much the president could do to reduce gas prices, but most of them think Obama could.
Calculated Risk | Schedule for Week of March 25th
The key reports this week are the January Case-Shiller house price index, to be released on Tuesday, the February Durable Goods report on Wednesday, the February Personal Income and Outlays report on Friday, and the third estimate of Q4 GDP on Thursday.
Keith Hennessey | Subsidizing wind and solar because China and Germany are doing it
The President has picked three industries and is arguing for an industrial policy to subsidize them in part because other countries are subsidizing them.
CATO | Don’t Look to Government If You Want Equality
In a not so subtle brief for taxing the rich, Washington Post business and economics columnist Steven Pearlstein looks critically today at Rep. Paul Ryan’s latest House Republican budget proposal.
Calculated Risk | Unofficial Problem Bank list declines to 949 Institutions
Here is the unofficial problem bank list for March 23, 2012.
WSJ | What if Young Adults Don’t Want to Leave Home?
78%: Percent of 25-34 year olds who have lived with their parents and are satisfied with the arrangement.
CATO | Why Is the Recovery Slow?
Everyone wonders why the recovery is so slow and unemployment remains so high. Just read the papers — in detail.
