News
USA Today | Eurozone warned 'severe recession' looming
The 17-country eurozone risks falling into a "severe recession," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Tuesday, as it called on governments and Europe's central bank to act quickly to keep the slowdown from dragging down the global economy.
WSJ | OECD Slashes Euro-Zone Growth Forecast
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Tuesday slashed its forecasts for growth across the euro zone for this year and next, and warned that the area's debt crisis could pull it into a vicious downward spiral without the right policy action.
Washington Times | Argentina’s long economic boom coming to an end
Argentina’s nine-year economic expansion is slowing sharply, according to analysts, who predict growth of 2.5 percent to 3 percent this year, half the 5.1 percent projected by the government’s 2012 budget and far below last year’s 8.9 percent rise.
Market Watch | Feds looking at J.P. Morgan disclosures
Federal regulators said Tuesday they are examining whether J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. violated rules requiring the bank to publicly disclose material changes in a timely manner, after it reported recently that the firm’s chief investment office had losses of at least $2 billion in credit derivatives.
WSJ | Japan Is Jolted By Cut in Rating
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday delivered a surprise jolt to Japan's political leadership, downgrading the sovereign rating and blasting the government for taking a "leisurely" approach to solving the country's spiraling debt problems.
National Journal | Oil boom strikes Kansas
Oil rigs are springing up in farmers' fields. "No vacancy" signs hang in the windows of local motels, and a steady stream of trucks barrel through Main Streets. Along the state's southern border, the once-quiet farm towns are quickly transforming into boomtowns.
WSJ | China Is Stimulused Out
Chinese stocks jumped 1.1% Tuesday on hopes that the government will ramp up spending again to ward off an economic slump. Premier Wen Jiabao stoked expectations on Sunday with a statement that "more priority should be given to maintaining stable economic growth."
National Journal | CBO Warns of Recession Due to Sequester, Tax Increases
In an extraordinary move, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned Tuesday that the United States could be plunged back into recession next year due to a brutal combination of automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect in January that would eat up $607 billion.
Market Watch | World Bank sees China as drag on emerging Asia
The World Bank on Wednesday forecast slower economic expansion for developing nations in East Asia this year due to weakness in China, and urged governments in the region to look domestically for growth rather than relying on exports.
Daily Finance | America's Uneven Economic Recovery: The 10 Best and 10 Worst Cities
For the past few months, reports have repeatedly affirmed that the economy is slowly improving. However, as one recent study highlights, some areas are recovering much faster than others. In fact, depending on where you live, the future may be bright ... or bleak.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | How the Recovery Went Wrong
President Obama, in speech after speech, proudly makes the following point: Although we inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression, we have generated net new jobs every month, and while we need to do more, we are going in the right direction.
Real Clear Markets | True Entitlement Reform Will Hit Upper and Middle Classes
Entitlements - programs that automatically pay benefits to all eligible recipients - come in different forms. Some programs, such as food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid, are available only to low-income households. Others, such as Medicare and Social Security, provide benefits across the income spectrum, with the bulk of the payments going to the middle class.
Washington Times | Obama’s economic fantasy land
President Obama’s anti-capitalism attacks on Mitt Romney’s long career as an investor who bankrolled businesses and created jobs isn’t playing well in some Democratic circles.
Forbes | A College Bubble So Big Even The New York Times And 60 Minutes Can See It...Sort Of
In 2009 I was invited to speak to the annual meeting of a mid-sized accounting firm in Florida. Of course, the big topic of conversation was the housing bubble and the financial crisis which resulted.
AEI | Regulators and Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Are Partners
The fact that all the regulated entities so well understand this motto and the vindictiveness of the regulatory bureaucrats in carrying it out make the unelected regulatory state so hard to subject to checks and balances.
Washington Times | Rethinking global economic stimulus
I recently gave a presentation to more than 700 World Bank employees from more than 100 countries. In preparing for my speech, I was struck by the fact that several of the bank’s largest donors - for example, the United States and Japan - have much greater fiscal challenges than some of its largest borrowers. Even more striking, most of the World Bank employees did not realize this fact.
WSJ | China Is Stimulused Out
Chinese stocks jumped 1.1% Tuesday on hopes that the government will ramp up spending again to ward off an economic slump. Premier Wen Jiabao stoked expectations on Sunday with a statement that "more priority should be given to maintaining stable economic growth."
Blogs
Atlantic | Property Rights and the Tragedy of the Commons
The importance of property rights for environmental conservation is not a new idea. It lay at the core of the early American conservation movement. After all, it was the institution of property rights that enabled the first Audubon Societies to post private reserves to protect birds from hunters who sought to collect their feathers for women's hats.
Library of Economics | Principles-Based Regulation
The bankers are always able to outmaneuver the regulators, staying within the letter of the rules while mocking their spirit.
John Taylor | Big Mac and Big Macro
One of the most important things for students to learn in introductory economics is that differences in productivity are the main reason for differences in real wages over time and across countries.
