News
Bloomberg | IMF Cuts Forecast on Second Year of Europe Contraction
The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecasts and now projects a second year of contraction in the euro region as progress in battling Europe’s debt crisis fails to produce an economic recovery.
FOX Business | Study: CEOs Wary About Short-Term Prospects
Chief executives are less optimistic about short-term growth prospects for their companies than a year ago, according to a survey that offers a reality check on rising stock markets.
CNN Money | Keystone pipeline faces new hurdles
The Keystone oil pipeline may have won approval from Nebraska's governor Tuesday, but the final decision rests with President Obama.
Bloomberg | Draghi Says ‘Darkest Clouds’ Over Europe Have Subsided
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi suggested the worst of the sovereign debt crisis may be over, saying the “darkest clouds’ over the euro area have lifted due to decisive policy steps last year.
Real Clear Markets | Don't Be Fooled About Low Rates and the Housing Bubble
One of the most persistent explanations for the 2008 financial crisis-especially among economists-is the notion that monetary policy in the early to mid-2000s was responsible for creating the immense housing price bubble that brought on the crisis when it collapsed in 2007.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Uncle Sam’s risky home loan rules
The political world is full of myths. Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau instituted a new regulation over the troubled mortgage market in an attempt to define certain lending practices as good or bad.
Fortune | Natural gas is just what clean energy needs
Exporting natural gas would be more likely to displace coal both at home and abroad, resulting in a lower net carbon emissions overall.
NY Times | Reports Reveal Financial Challenges, but Few Solutions
The important and self-important of global finance are again gathering at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This year, the mandatory reading should be two recent reminders from JPMorgan Chase and the Federal Reserve that we are light years from understanding or preventing financial crises.
WSJ | Exports Sagging? Try Some Free Trade
When the latest U.S. trade statistics came out this month, they conveyed one sobering message: President Obama's National Export Initiative is in danger of failing. Success can still be snatched from the jaws of defeat—but only if the president and Congress quickly and aggressively pursue freer trade and liberalize many other policies connected to the global economy.
Fortune | How Ed Whitacre brought GM back from the brink
Days after General Motors went bankrupt, former AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre took over as chairman. He found a company paralyzed by old ways and seemingly unable to change. Inside his fight to get GM moving again.
Washington Times | International relations get a jolt from U.S. energy
There is an energy revolution under way in the United States. Booming oil and natural gas production is transforming our economic outlook, ushering newfound wealth to our rural areas and providing high-paying jobs for middle-class workers across the country.
Blogs
WSJ | Secondary Sources: Don’t Obsess Over Deficits, Smaller Government, Inefficient Markets
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
Coordination Problem | Compare and Contrast --- Economic Analysis of Mercantilism and Its Contemporary Relevance
Rodrik claims that "The liberal model has become severely tarnished, owing to the rise in inequality and the plight of the middle class in the West, together with the financial crisis that deregulation spawned." But the reason for this is precisely because for the past 6 decades it hasn't only been the Asian countries that have pursued Mercantlist policies (as Rothbard explained 50 years ago).
Calculated Risk | Predicting the Next Recession
A few thoughts on the "next recession" ... Forecasters generally have a terrible record at predicting recessions. There are many reasons for this poor performance.
