News
Politico | Nation's potholes need a big fix
The nation’s population is growing at a steady pace, yet infrastructure investments lag. The lifelines of commerce — roads, bridges, runways, ports — are showing their age, and in this era of fiscal austerity it may be a long time before they get rebuilt
National Journal | A Lovers’ Quarrel Between GOP and Big Oil
President Obama and the oil and natural-gas industry are getting along better than ever, and that’s infuriating Republicans on Capitol Hill.
CNN Money | Are megabanks too big to manage?
JPMorgan Chase's $2 billion hedging blunder is adding fuel to those who think the megabanks are just too big.
Bloomberg | Spark in Sales of Cars and Trucks Drives U.S. Economy
Car sales that are running at the fastest pace in four years are poised to reverberate through the world’s largest economy as a spillover into production, profits and jobs for Americans may be starting.
WSJ | Euro-Zone Industrial Output Stokes Recession Fears
Industrial production in the 17 countries that use the euro fell unexpectedly in March, leaving little doubt the region contracted for a second straight quarter in the first three months of the year and returned to recession, data by Eurostat showed Monday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | Fix our roads to help the economy
We face stark choices regarding the role of government in our nation’s transportation and infrastructure programs. Because of cumbersome federal regulations, red tape and bureaucratic malaise, it can take up to 15 years on average to take a major construction project from inception to completion.
Mercatus | How Well Do Federal Regulations Actually Work? The Role of Retrospective Review
With the volume of federal regulations exceeding some 165,000 pages, a reliable practice of review is critical to judge how well or poorly existing regulations actually work and to revise regulations accordingly.
Washington Post | The boom on the farm
Sitting in the cab of a $350,000 John Deere tractor pulling a $150,000 Deere corn planter, Greg Carson embodies modern American agriculture. It’s capital-intensive, high-tech, efficient — and now immensely profitable. Looking for a bright spot in the U.S. economy? The farm belt is it.
Washington Times | J.P. Morgan mess: Bust up the big banks
J.P. Morgan’s $2 billion loss from betting on corporate bonds will embolden advocates of the Volcker Rule - a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that will prohibit banks from trading on their own account. Unfortunately for federal regulators, trading in securities is essential to modern banking, and busting up the big Wall Street financial houses may be the only way to better ensure financial stability.
WSJ | Economists Forecast Subdued Growth in 2012
Forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the economy to grow at such a subdued pace this year that unemployment will barely budge.
Blogs
Calculated Risk | Unofficial Problem Bank list declines to 924 Institutions
Here is the unofficial problem bank list for May 11, 2012.
Atlantic | The 1% Conundrum: How Much Income Inequality Is There, Really?
My last post provided an initial look at the inequality figures focusing on "the top one percent," which show sharply rising income concentration over the past 30 years. But those figures rely entirely or heavily on tax return data from the IRS. This creates some issues that warrant skepticism about the magnitude of the increase I described.
WSJ | NY Fed Releases Latest View on Economy
The latest update of the official New York Fed staff economic forecasts predicts trend-like growth, largely stable inflation and a slow grind lower in the unemployment rate.
Economist | The unwinding
Today is a bloody day on markets, on the heels of what was a very bloody week on markets. Euro-area equities are plunging and sovereign-debt yields are soaring. The Spanish 10-year yield is up to 6.3%, a level not seen since late last year. Awful news from the real economy is partly to blame; industrial production dropped sharply in May across the euro zone. But the possibility of and potential fall-out from a Greek exit seems to loom largest.
WSJ | Secondary Sources: Euro Crisis, Long-Term Unemployment, Greek Exit
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
Carpe Diem | North Dakota's Amazing Economic Success; It's Not Just About Oil, A Pro-Business Climate Gets Credit. Let's Call it the "Dakota Model" of Job Creation
It's been widely reported here and elsewhere that North Dakota's economy is booming, thanks largely to the energy-related prosperity in the western part of the state.
