News
WSJ | Before Vote, Greeks Move Cash, Hire Guards
As Greece prepares for a weekend vote that could determine whether the country stays in Europe's common currency, many Greeks are gripped by uncertainty and taking measures large and small to prepare for what may come next.
Washington Times | Obama’s G-20 role limited in grappling with eurozone crisis
Few events make President Obama look less powerful lately than a gathering of European leaders.
USA Today | Current account deficit widens to $137.3B
The U.S. current account trade deficit widened in the first three months to the largest imbalance since late 2008, reflecting a big increase in imports in oil, cars and machinery and a drop in U.S. earnings on overseas investments.
WSJ | Europe on Edge Over Crisis
The U.K. on Thursday unveiled an extraordinary series of measures designed to insulate the British financial system and economy from the euro zone's deepening crisis.
CNN Money | Stimulus-by-the-gallon: Lower gas prices
Congress and the Federal Reserve aren't likely to provide any meaningful stimulus to the economy. But your corner gas station might.
USA Today | 30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.71%
Average rates on fixed mortgages rose this week, the first increase in seven weeks. But mortgage rates remain near historic lows, boosting prospects for home sales this year.
WSJ | Foreign Investment Surges
Foreigners are stepping up investment in the U.S. after retreating during the depths of the financial crisis, with the latest flurry spurred partly by Europeans seeking havens amid the Continent's debt crisis.
CNN Money | China: World's largest supplier of educated workers
Low-wage, unskilled labor was once its competitive edge, but now China is quickly rising as the world's largest supplier of college-educated workers.
USA Today | Abandoned homes plague cities: It takes money to level them
Some local governments hardest hit by population losses are struggling with what has been left behind: large numbers of abandoned housing units.
Market Watch | Uncertain times, again, for U.S. economy
If the American economy falters again, the most likely culprit will be that classic enemy of growth: uncertainty.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Daily Caller | A global recession?
Is it possible that we are already in a global recession but just don’t know it yet? And is the U.S. itself — still the epicenter of the world economy — standing on the front edge of another recession?
Politico | Solyndranomics 101
After weeks of bad economic news and public White House stumbles, President Barack Obama decided it was time to give another speech about the economy. He laid out his sweeping vision of America’s future—in hopes of distracting us from the failed policies of the past three and a half years.
Washington Times | The poorer middle class
President Obama’s re-election prospects dim by the day. When it comes to all-important pocketbook issues, Americans quite simply are worse off now than they were when this administration moved into the White House.
Real Clear Markets | True Recovery Pushed Further Into the Future
The Greeks are going to dominate the weekend as they decide to elect someone to do something about austerity and the huge current account hole. In anticipation of a "bad" election result, Greeks and foreign investors are pulling their money out, just in case.
The American | It’s Not a Welfare State, It’s a Special Interest State
A democratic polity can bicker over the scope of these functions. Some think care for the unfortunate should go a long way in the direction of income redistribution and that protecting public health requires extensive regulation. Others are more cautious. But these disagreements, while sometimes acrid, are within the bounds of civil political contest.
CNBC | Why the Rich Recovered and the Rest Didn't
The latest report from the Federal Reserve tells us that wealth of the middle class declined by more than a third between 2007 and 2010. The wealth of the top 10 percent, however, grew by two percent.
Real Clear Markets | A Global Recession? Warning Signs Are Everywhere
Is it possible that we are already in a global recession but just don't know it yet? And is the U.S. itself -- still the epicenter of the world economy -- standing on the front edge of another recession?
Economist | Dithering in the dark
Europe teeters at the edge of an economic abyss, its fate in the hands of political leaders at odds over how to solve the continent’s twin debt and bank crises. America may be pushed over a “fiscal cliff” at the end of the year by political dysfunction.
Blogs
WSJ | U.K. Household Incomes Post Biggest Drop in 30 Years
Britons suffered their largest decline in real incomes in three decades during the fiscal year that ended in March 2011, with rich being hardest hit, according to a private think tank that scrutinizes government fiscal policies.
WSJ | Trade Protectionism Rises as Economies Slow
As worries rise about an economic slowdown, major nations around the world are ramping up measures to protect their economies from trade threats.
