News
CNN Money | Banks modify home loans, reduce rates for 300,000
More than 300,000 homeowners have received $26 billion in relief under the big foreclosure abuse settlement reached earlier this year, according to a government report released Monday.
Market Watch | US housing starts highest in more than four years
Construction on new U.S. homes rose 3.6% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000, the highest rate since July 2008, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported Tuesday.
CNN Money | Eurozone risks rising as outlook darkens
Investors want to believe eurozone policymakers can resolve the debt crisis. But the risk of a prolonged recession is rising, and with it the chances that more action will be needed to shore up the currency area.
Bloomberg | China Foreign Investment Falls for 11th Time in 12 Months
Foreign direct investment in China fell for the 11th time in 12 months as labor costs rose, an economic slowdown threatened to drag growth to a 13-year low and a territorial dispute with Japan weighed on trade.
CNBC | Morgan Stanley’s Doom Scenario: Major Recession in 2013
The global economy is likely to be stuck in the “twilight zone” of sluggish growth in 2013, Morgan Stanley has warned, but if policymakers fail to act, it could get a lot worse.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Heritage Foundation | Chinese Economic Espionage Is Hurting the Case for Free Trade
Trade and investment with China benefits the U.S. This is evident in choices made by individuals and companies every day to buy Chinese goods and work with Chinese partners. Indeed, American business has been the chief proponent of a sound U.S.–China economic relationship.
WSJ | Why We're Investing in America
Since co-founding the Carlyle Group in 1987, I have had the honor to invest in almost every region of the world, from Shanghai to St. Louis, Sweden to sub-Saharan Africa. Over these 25 years, different regions have stood out at different times as attractive places to deploy capital.
Fortune | Globalism goes backward
They forgot to tell us globalization has a reverse gear. Now companies and countries need to get ready for the 'inside economy.'
Washington Times | Obama’s Keystone conundrum
President Obama claimed throughout the campaign that he would pursue an “all of the above” energy policy. Now that he’s secured a second term, Americans expect him to make good on his promise and allow affordable energy projects to proceed. A powerful signal of his intention to keep his word would be to grant final approval to the Keystone XL pipeline.
WSJ | The Fannie Mae 'Wind Down' That Isn't
At the height of the presidential election campaign, the Treasury Department issued a press release called "Further Steps to Expedite Wind Down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." It highlighted a new policy to scale back the pair's mortgage-investment portfolio at a rate of 15% per year, as opposed to their stated 10% rate.
Businessweek | Five Steps to Fix Shadow Banking
International regulators did the world a service by reporting that shadow banking remains an enormous force in the global financial system. Firms in the sector had $67 trillion in assets last year, the Financial Stability Board has just reported. But given the importance of the lightly monitored companies, the regulators’ prescriptions seem cautious.
Blogs
Library of Economics | Business Accountability: Good and In-Between
I've had two experiences in the last few weeks in which one business was incredibly accountable and one business was reasonably accountable although its employee was so-so.
Heritage Foundation | 232 Business Leaders Urge Obama, Congress to Reform Entitlements
A letter from 232 multi-industry organizations, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is calling on President Obama and Congress to restructure the nation’s entitlement programs and put them on a path toward financial sustainability.
Economist | Markets, broad and deep
Economists love free trade. Their enthusiasm for it often seems to perplex outsiders. This may be due to the fact that "comparative advantage" isn't the most intuitive idea at first brush. Or it might also be a result of economists' frequent emphasis on a relatively narrow view of the gains from trade.
