News
WSJ | Italy Reneges on Vow to Balance 2013 Budget
Italy said it won't balance its budget next year as it had pledged, while Prime Minister Mario Monti made it clear he isn't trading austerity measures for a bid to boost economic growth.
Bloomberg | Obama Won’t Sign Republican Spending Bills, Official Says
President Barack Obama won’t sign spending bills being written by House Republicans, the administration warned, escalating a budget fight that raises the possibility of a government shutdown later this year.
WSJ | Budget Fight Heats Up
The White House, firing the latest salvo in this year's budget battle, threatened to block any new spending bills until House Republicans reverse the spending cuts they approved in recent weeks.
National Journal | Conrad Pleads for Bipartisan Deficit-Cutting Plan but Can Advance No Bill
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., pleaded with committee members Wednesday to “come together” behind a comprehensive, deficit-reduction plan but could advance no bill to the floor after Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., ruled it out.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Gen O Discovers Washington's Debt Bomb
You're breathing a sigh of relief because you've filed your taxes for 2011. But what if your taxes reflected the true cost of the federal government's annual expenditures? How much more would you have to pay?
MSN Money | US barrels toward a fiscal cliff
For all the well-paid analysts and sophisticated computer systems that dominate trading, Wall Street still can't seem to focus on more than one thing at a time.
Bloomberg | Will U.S. Avoid 2012 Recession? A Postscript
My thinking is as follows: Europe is in a recession that could be as severe as the one in 2008-2009 in which real gross domestic product in the euro area fell 5.4 percent from peak to trough, almost matching the U.S. decline of 5.5 percent. The continuing, unresolved --- and probably unsolvable -- financial crisis has again spilled over into the real economy.
Blogs
WSJ | Would Repeal of Key Dodd-Frank Provision Really Save $22 Billion?
A House committee later today will vote on a bill being pushed by Republicans to repeal a central plank of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, claiming it would save taxpayers $22 billion over 10 years.
