News
CNN Money | Empire State Building cuts energy use 20%
The Empire State Building is on an energy diet. The hulking building, a symbol of American power and, to some, excess, has cut its energy use by 20%.
WSJ | As Gas Prices Fall, a Sigh of Relief
Gasoline prices fell for the fifth consecutive week, extending a sharp decline that has eased fears that prices would soon top $4 a gallon at the pump.
Bloomberg | German Industrial Output Rises More Than Forecast
German industrial output rose more than three times as much as economists forecast in March, adding to signs Europe’s largest economy may have avoided recession.
Market Watch | Sunnier outlook for U.S. trade sector
After sharply narrowing in the prior month, economists polled by MarketWatch expect the trade gap to widen in March to $49.5 billion, near the high end of its range over the past year, due to higher oil prices.
WSJ | Consumer Borrowing Rose 10.2% in March
Consumer borrowing on credit cards, car loans, student loans and other types of installment debt grew at a seasonally adjusted 10.2% annual rate to $2.54 trillion in March from February, the Federal Reserve said Monday. Mortgages aren't included in the tally.
Market Watch | NFIB small-business index at post-recession high
A measure of small-business optimism in April matched the best post-recession reading, a trade group said Tuesday. The National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index rose 2 points to 94.5, led by an 11-point jump in earnings trends.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Businessweek | Consumers Cutting Back? Are You Kidding?
Conventional wisdom says the economy is weak because consumers, constrained by excessive debt, are cutting back. That is wrong on two counts. I have a chart for each.
Politico | Congress must back Export-Import Bank
It is not often that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, organized labor and small-business executives can agree. However, all these groups in March joined in urging the Senate to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Unfortunately, that effort was unsuccessful — though the bank helps support nearly 300,000 U.S. jobs.
NBER | How Firms Use Domestic and International Corporate Bond Markets
This paper provides the first comprehensive documentation of the main features of corporate bond issues in domestic and international markets and analyzes how firms use these markets after they internationalize. We find that debt issues in domestic and international bond markets have different characteristics, not explained by differences across firms or their country of origin.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Reforming the Fastest Growing Government Welfare Program
The House of Representatives is poised to pass a budget reconciliation measure that would tackle increased spending in the food stamps program (or, as it’s currently known, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program).
Library of Economics | Are Resources Exhaustible?
If resources are not fixed but created, then the nature of the scarcity problem changes dramatically.
Calculated Risk | Housing: Inventory declines 21% year-over-year in early May
According to the deptofnumbers.com for (54 metro areas), inventory is off 20.7% compared to the same week last year. Unfortunately the deptofnumbers only started tracking inventory in April 2006.
