News
Market Watch | Gas prices, inflation under the microscope
One of the biggest threats to the U.S. economy is higher gas prices, but so far the cost of filling up has not slowed the recovery.
National Journal | After Public Spectacle, Nuclear Agency Struggles to Get Back in the Shadows
Until the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan and a very public internal feud late last year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was a fairly obscure federal agency with primary responsibility for regulating the nation’s 104 nuclear power plants.
Politico | Brazil-U.S.: Time for bolder partnership
The Brazilian and U.S. policymakers set to meet this week could make meaningful headway on the crucial economic and business issues at hand, and build a bolder partnership.
Econ Comments & Analysis
AEI | Private investment for infrastructure
Every serious study of U.S. infrastructure has reached the same conclusion: More investment is needed - and fast.
WSJ | Walter Russell Mead: The Myth of America's Decline
The world balance of power is changing. Countries like China, India, Turkey and Brazil are heard from more frequently and on a wider range of subjects. The European Union's most ambitious global project—creating a universal treaty to reduce carbon emissions—has collapsed, and EU expansion has slowed to a crawl as Europe turns inward to deal with its debt crisis.
Politico | Brazil's energy policy powers economy
With the focus on the presidential campaign, you may have missed the news that California is no longer the world’s eighth largest economy. Brazil, whose president, Dilma Rouseff is in Washington this week, recently leapfrogged the Golden State in terms of economic size
WSJ | The Real Causes of Income Inequality
In the stagnant days of the Carter administration, when inflation was approaching 13.5% and interest rates were peaking at 21.5%, income was more evenly distributed than in any period in 20th-century America. Since the days of that equality in misery, the measured income of the top 1% of income tax filers has risen over three and a half times as fast as the income of the population as a whole.
Washington Post | Would Roosevelt recognize today’s Social Security?
After all, Social Security is considered the New Deal’s signature achievement. It distributes nearly $800 billion a year to 56 million retirees, survivors and disabled beneficiaries. On average, retired workers and spouses receive $1,839 a month — money vital to the well-being of millions.
WSJ | Who Deserves Credit for the Improving Economy?
Three years after a severe recession, the economy remains stuck in a modest recovery. More than 12 million Americans actively seek work. Many citizens, particularly the younger and less-educated, find themselves detached, demoralized and defeated. Many others, gainfully employed with some trappings of success, question whether the promise of America will endure for the next generation.
The American | Titanic and the 1%
The 100th anniversary of the launching and loss of the Titanic presents many questions. Inequality, for example: Was it about the victimization of poor, immigrant third-class passengers by the callous White Star Line and the arrogant 1 percent in first class? That has become the classic popular story
Blogs
WSJ | Consumers Cut Credit-Card Debt, Add to Auto and Student Loans
U.S. credit card debt fell for the second month in a row, a sign consumers could be trying to pare back on some expenses.
Minyanville | Random Thoughts: Weighing the Rally Against an Economic Recovery
The Federal Reserve released the "minutes" from its most recent meeting last week and hinted that the punch bowl of synthetic stimulus may soon be removed. Given that financial assets have relied on this "fix" since the first phase of the financial crisis, Wall Street was none too pleased.
WSJ | More Americans think It’s a Good Time to Buy a Home
Nearly three-quarters of Americans said they thought it was a good time to buy a home last month, with expectations that rental and purchase prices will rise over the next year and as consumers’ views of their finances stabilized, according to a monthly survey by mortgage finance company Fannie Mae (FNMA).
Calculated Risk | Schedule for Week of April 8th
The key reports for this week are the February Trade Balance report, to be released on Thursday, and the March Consumer Price Index (CPI), to be released on Friday.
