News
WSJ | U.S. Trade Deficit Widens
The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services ballooned 14.1% to $51.83 billion from a downwardly revised $45.42 billion the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The February trade gap was originally reported as $46.03 billion.
USA Today | Study: Economic mobility depends on the state you live in
The ability of individuals to achieve the American dream depends on where they live, according to the first state-by-state look at the opportunity to move up the economic ladder.
WSJ | Borrowers Face Big Delays in Refinancing Mortgages
Clogged mortgage pipelines have created headaches for hundreds of thousands of Americans trying to take advantage of low mortgage rates, which averaged 4.05% for the week ending April 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
CNN Money | How small businesses grow, even in a tough economy
In a presidential election year, the economy is sure to be the story, with plenty of numbers for detail and small businesses playing the main characters. But over the past 14 years, the Boston-based Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) has collected 100 urban business success stories every year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | A Mortgage Deal With the Wrong Incentives
This week Bank of America announced that it will contact 200,000 mortgage customers to see if they qualify for reduced principal and interest payments under a February Justice Department settlement.
The American | When Reducing Barriers Leads to More Failed Businesses
Improving the payoff to overcoming obstacles to entrepreneurial success is a better approach to stimulating successful entrepreneurship than making it easier to become an entrepreneur.
Blogs
Atlantic | We Are the 99.5%: The Real Inequality Jump Is in the Top Half-Percentile
Thanks in part to Occupy Wall Street, when people talk about inequality these days, they're typically referring to the extent to which the top 1 percent have pulled away from the bottom 99 percent.
The American | Oh, by all means, France should certainly spend more instead of deregulating … not
And out of 142 countries, the WEF ranked France 68th in labor market efficiency. The U.S., by contrast, ranked 4th.
