News
CNN Money | Gas prices down 6% this month
Amid the global economic gloom, there's a ray of sunshine for summertime motorists in the U.S.: The price of gas has dropped 6% over the last month.
CNN Money | 28% of Americans have no emergency savings
Most Americans don't have nearly enough money stashed away for emergencies and more than one-in-four don't even have a single penny saved.
CNN Money | Economists give Obama and Congress a 'D'
When it comes to handling the economy, neither Obama nor Congress make the grade.
WSJ | China, U.S. Sign $3.4 Billion in Deals
Companies from China and the U.S. on Saturday signed a total of $3.4 billion in bilateral investment projects, as the world's two biggest economies seek to boost trade and investment.
CNN Money | Government wants more people on food stamps
More than one in seven Americans are on food stamps, but the federal government wants even more people to sign up for the safety net program.
Market Watch | Citi cuts China's 2012 growth outlook to 7.8%
Citi on Monday cut its 2012 China growth forecast to 7.8% from 8.1% previously, saying the move reflects slower domestic growth in the second quarter and a further weakening of conditions in the European Union.
CNN Money | U.S. cuts greenhouse gases despite do-nothing Congress
A curious thing is happening to the air in the United States. It's getting cleaner.
Econ Comments & Analysis
NY Times | Old vs. Young
Draw it at the age of 65, 50 or 40. Wherever the line is, the people on either side of it end up looking very different, both economically and politically.
Washington Times | U.S. still stuck in recession
This latest recession started in December 2007. Since the Great Depression 75 years ago, recessions in America have lasted an average of 10 months, with the longest previously lasting 16 months, not counting this latest spooky downturn.
WSJ | Smearing Small Business
On the eve of the Supreme Court's ruling on ObamaCare, and with the Justices now presumably beyond political pressure, the liberal intimidation campaign has moved on to other targets. The latest is the small business lobby for having dared to join 26 states in challenging the law.
Motley Fool | The Most Important Numbers of the Next Half-Century
In 1991, former MIT dean Lester Thurow wrote: "If one looks at the last 20 years, Japan would have to be considered the betting favorite to win the economy honors of owning the 21st century."
Washington Post | The sources of the global economic stalemate
We live in a world of broken models. To understand why world leaders can’t easily fix the sputtering global economy, you have to realize that the economic models on which the United States, Europe and China relied are collapsing.
WSJ | Corporate Pensions Need Relief
Pension plans measure their liabilities by applying a discount, or interest, rate that is prescribed by law. The lower the discount rate, the more they will have to contribute to fund their plans.
NY Times | A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private
If your image of a city hall involves a venerable building, some Roman pillars and lots of public employees, the version offered by this Atlanta suburb of 94,000 residents is a bit of a shocker.
WSJ | The Dodd-Frank Downgrade
We've never put much stock in the judgment of credit-ratings agencies. But by issuing a series of downgrades of giant banks this week, Moody's Investors Service may have performed a taxpayer service.
Atlantic | The Economic History of the Last 2000 Years: Part II
The graph above is an economic history of the world, after 1 AD, from a research letter written by Michael Cembalest, chairman of market and investment strategy at JP Morgan.
Blogs
Calculated Risk | Unofficial Problem Bank list increases to 921 Institutions
Quiet week for the Unofficial Problem Bank List with three additions and one removal. The changes leave the list with 921 institutions with assets of $354.6 billion, up for the second consecutive week.
National Review | Green Energy Loans: Beyond the Solyndra Drama
I testified before Congress earlier this week about the Section 1705 loan guarantee program of the Department of Energy. That’s the loan program that guaranteed $538 million in loans for the now-bankrupt energy company Solyndra.
Library of Economics | Eurozone Crisis: what is the solution?
The problem is that some governments and some banks are insolvent. When a financial institution is insolvent, its liabilities must be taken over by a solvent institution. The solvent institution gets to set the price, which typically is a discount.
Calculated Risk | Schedule for Week of June 24th
The key US economic reports this week are May New Home Sales on Monday, April Case-Shiller house prices on Tuesday, and the May Personal Income and Outlays report on Friday.
