News
WSJ | IMF Sees Euro-Zone Countries Missing Deficit Targets
France, Spain and several other euro-zone governments won't hit budget deficit targets agreed to with European authorities, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday, setting the stage for a contentious debate over whether the governments should pursue more cuts or allow the targets to slip.
CNN Money | Iraq oil output to double by 2020: IEA
Iraqi oil production could double by the end of this decade, putting the country on track to become the second-biggest supplier to world markets after Saudi Arabia by the 2030s, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.
WSJ | OECD Points to Further Slowdown
Most major economies are to slow further in coming months, with only Brazil and the U.K. to experience a moderate pickup, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's composite leading indicators.
Market Watch | IMF cuts 2012, 2013 global growth forecasts
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday revised down its projections for global growth for this year and next, citing lower growth prospects and higher risks.
Market Watch | Social Security rise may be 1.7%: study
Social Security recipients may get a cost-of-living increase between 1.5% to 1.7%, according to the American Institute for Economic Research.
FOX News | Survey: Small business owners grow more pessimistic as employment and sales remain weak
A survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business shows that owners became more pessimistic during September as employment and sales remained weak. The NFIB's index of owner optimism fell 0.1 point to 92.8.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CATO | Countervailing Calamity: How to Stop the Global Subsidies Race
The world is awash in trade-distorting subsidies. Since the financial crisis of 2008, governments have adopted massive "stimulus" packages that have included taxpayer subsidies for industries, such as agriculture, alternative energy, and automobiles, which have distorted global markets, bred cronyism, and undermined free trade.
NBER | Entrepreneurship and Urban Growth: An Empirical Assessment with Historical Mines
Measures of entrepreneurship, such as average establishment size and the prevalence of start-ups, correlate strongly with employment growth across and within metropolitan areas, but the endogeneity of these measures bedevils interpretation.
Washington Times | A class-action blow to U.S. manufacturing
The U.S. Supreme Court has until Friday to determine whether it will hear an appeal involving a class-action lawsuit against Whirlpool, the nation’s largest washing machine manufacturer. Until then, the future of all manufacturing in the United States hangs in the balance.
WSJ | Biting the Bank That Saved You
The U.S. Department of Justice and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman teamed up last week to sue J.P. Morgan in a headline-grabbing case alleging the fraudulent sale of mortgage-backed securities.
Real Clear Markets | Obama Asks Big Business to Break the Law
The White House has initiated an effort, possibly extra-legal, to head off required layoff notices to employees of defense contractors on the cusp of Election Day. Worse, without congressional approval, it has offered to pay firms' penalties and court costs, potentially $500 million or more, out of the Pentagon budget.
WSJ | California's Green Gas Shortages
Californians are grumbling about a gas price spike, which state officials blame on disruptions in the supply chain. Actually, they're paying through the nozzle for their greener-than-thou government.
Real Clear Markets | Small Businesses Innovate Around Government Barriers
U.S. "small businesses", unlike like their "big business" brethren, are the fodder of election year speeches, with political candidates enshrining American entrepreneurs with the true spirit of capitalism. This year is no different, but this year the definition of what political candidates are referring to as a "small business" has changed - at least according to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Small Business Administration (SBA).
WSJ | How to Restore Confidence in the Financial Markets
Virtually every developed nation today suffers from the reluctance of investors and CEOs to invest in new businesses, jobs or ideas. Investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude because markets are missing the two components essential for confidence: trust and certainty.
Blogs
Calculated Risk | Schedule for Week of Oct 7th
Early in the week, the focus will be on Europe with a report due on Greece, the ESM becoming active, and a finance minister meeting.
Political Calculations | Which Obama Policy Killed the Recovery?
Not long ago, we used stock market-style technical analysis to reveal that the policies implemented during President George W. Bush's tenure in office were most likely responsible for launching the economic recovery that followed the December 2007 recession and that the policies implemented during President Barack H. Obama's tenure in office were most likely responsible for derailing that recovery.
Calculated Risk | Unofficial Problem Bank list declines to 873 Institutions
Very quiet week for the Unofficial Problem Bank List with only removal.
