News
Washington Times | Rate on U.S. 30-year mortgage dips to 3.32 pct.
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week near record lows, providing more incentive for Americans to buy homes and refinance.
USA Today | Mortgage rates fall near record lows
Average rates on fixed mortgages fell this week near record lows.
Bloomberg | Industrial Production in U.S. Jumps on Rebound From Sandy
Industrial production in the U.S. rose in November by the most in two years as manufacturers recovered from superstorm Sandy.
Washington Times | Senate fails to extend account insurance
A federal program giving unlimited insurance guarantees to some no-interest bank accounts, enacted at the height of the financial meltdown, will die out at the end of the year after the defeat of a Senate plan to extend it.
Market Watch | Will deficit reduction crush stocks?
The stock market goes up whenever John Boehner or Barack Obama says something vaguely positive about fiscal cliff negotiations. It goes down when they say something negative.
Bloomberg | ECB Says Risks Remain as Financial Tensions Ease Tangibly
The European Central Bank said there are still risks to financial stability in the euro area, even after tensions abated “tangibly” in the last half year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
TIME | Why Your 401(k) Match Will Get Cut
Employee benefits are constantly evolving, and the trend line isn’t great for most workers. Last week, IBM—an often copied benefits leader—delivered another blow. The business services giant revamped its 401(k) plan in a way that will transfer millions of dollars to shareholders at the expense of employees.
Blogs
AEI | New study shows devastating foreclosures on the rise
My new groundbreaking study out this morning –noted by Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times– reveals never-before-available data at the zip-code level on projected foreclosure rates for families getting FHA loans nationwide.
Daily Capitalist | Small Business Surveys Suggest New Downtrend Despite Incomplete Recovery From the Great Recession
The National Federation of Small Business and Gallup have recently published results of small business surveys, which are consistent with other data which are presented below.
AEI | Why the worst may be over for income inequality
When the extent of offshoring becomes sufficiently large, further increases in offshoring induce technical change now biased in favor of unskilled labor because offshoring closes the gap between unskilled wages in the West and the East, thus limiting the power of the price effect fueling skill-biased technical change. The unequalizing impact of offshoring is thus greatest at the beginning.
Neighborhood Effects | Government-Granted Privilege is not Capitalism
A quick lesson for Mr. Schmidt: genuine capitalism is about competing on a level playing field for customer dollars. If you offer a superior product or service, customers will reward you by voluntarily parting with their money in exchange for what you offer.
