News
Market Watch | OECD: Fiscal-cliff failure could trigger recession
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday warned of a "hesitant and uneven recovery over the coming two years," saying it expects global growth of 1.4% this year and next.
WSJ | Talks Over Fiscal Cliff Stay Stuck in Low Gear
Congressional leaders return to Washington this week facing the prospect that talks with the White House over the country's budget impasse have barely progressed, a reminder of the philosophical divisions that remain despite both sides' early professions of optimism.
Bloomberg | Fiscal Cliff Compromise Elusive as Congress Returns
Republicans’ post-election rhetorical openness to higher taxes comes with a price that neither side of the fiscal debate in Washington may be willing to pay.
Bloomberg | Greece Wins Easier Debt Terms as EU Hails Rescue Formula
European finance ministers eased the terms on emergency aid for Greece, declaring after three years of false starts that Europe has found the formula for nursing the debt-stricken country back to health.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt
A decade and a half ago, both of us served on President Clinton's Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform, the forerunner to President Obama's recent National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In 1994 we predicted that, unless something was done to control runaway entitlement spending, Medicare and Social Security would eventually go bankrupt or confront severe benefit cuts.
Real Clear Markets | Kick the Cliff Down the Road, Then Start Negotiating
With the election and Thanksgiving out of the way, the rest of the year is shaping up to be an epic showdown between Democrats and Republicans over tax policy and how to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. At this point there appears to be little room for optimism that either side will give enough ground to avert the spending cuts and tax hikes that will otherwise go into effect within weeks.
Blogs
Calculated Risk | Greek Debt Deal Reached
Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund clinched agreement on a new debt target for Greece on Monday in a breakthrough towards releasing an urgently needed tranche of loans to the near-bankrupt economy, officials said.
John Taylor | A Way to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff without Creating Another One
So far the fiscal cliff debate has mainly been about whether tax revenues should be on or off the table with little mention of spending. But the economics of the debate—as distinct from the raw politics—make no sense without considering spending.
