News
WSJ | Cities Outpace Suburbs in Growth
Many U.S. cities are growing faster than their suburbs for the first time in decades, reflecting shifting attitudes about urban living as well as the effect of a housing bust that has put a damper on moving.
Bloomberg | Oil Fluctuates Amid Speculation EU Outlook Will Worsen
Oil fluctuated in London amid speculation that the European Union’s economy will fail to grow, as the region’s leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit.
CNN Money | Congress close to deal on student loans
Senate and House leaders said Wednesday they're close to an agreement to extend for one year the current low 3.4% rates on federal subsidized student loans.
Bloomberg | U.S. Economy Grew 1.9% in First Quarter on Consumer Spending
The U.S. economy grew 1.9 percent in the first quarter, reflecting a gain in consumer spending that now shows signs of cooling as the labor market weakens.
Bloomberg | Euro-Area Confidence Slumps, German Unemployment Rises
Economic confidence in the euro area slumped to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years in June and German unemployment increased more than economists forecast, adding to signs the economy fell back into a recession.
NY Times | After Years of False Hopes, Signs of a Turn in Housing
Announcements of a housing recovery have become a wrongheaded rite of summer, but after several years of false hopes, evidence is accumulating that the optimists may finally be right.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fiscal Times | The Poor: Not As Bad Off As They Once Were?
Just how badly are the country’s poor and middle class doing? While the national debate about rising income inequality rages on, economists Kevin Hassett and Aparna Mathur of the conservative American Enterprise Institute are looking to shift the focus of the discussion.
CNN Money | Could cheap gas save the economy?
The good news is that cheaper gas could be the answer. America has hit the energy jackpot with new techniques to extract oil and gas from shale.
NBER | Evidence on the Impact of R&D and ICT Investment on Innovation and Productivity in Italian Firms
Both Research and Development (R&D) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) investment have been identified as sources of relative innovation underperformance in Europe vis-à-vis the United States.
Washington Times | Bank downgrades with a twist
News from Europe continues to be bleak. Moody's downgraded 28 Spanish banks on Monday, not long after major financial institutions, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, suffered the same fate.
Blogs
CNN Money | OECD warns U.S. on income inequality
The United States should aim to fix its income inequality problem by improving education for disadvantaged students and raising taxes on the wealthy, according to a new report from a consortium of developed countries.
FOX Business | U.S. Economy Thrives on the Pearls of Small Business
There’s a bull market in doom and gloom these days. But small businesses are still chugging along, the heart and soul of the U.S. economy, the artisanal small shops who create the lion's share of jobs in the U.S. economy.
Economist | American oil
For decades, American politicians have bemoaned their economy's dependence on foreign oil and failed utterly at doing anything about it. Now, two key developments—soaring prices and new technologies—are beginning to accomplish what politicians couldn't.
