News
Bloomberg | Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Decreased 4.3%
Pending U.S. home sales declined in December for the first time since August, showing uneven progress in the housing market.
FOX Business | Uncertainty to Slow Growth of Retail Sales in 2013
Retail sales this year are expected to grow at a slower pace than in 2012 as continued political wrangling in Washington and the sluggish global economy will likely inject further uncertainty into the market and force shoppers to play defense.
CNN Money | Housing to drive economic growth (finally!)
The bursting of the housing bubble plunged the economy into a recession from which it has yet to fully recover. But economists say this could finally be the year that housing lifts us out of the doldrums.
Bloomberg | Durable-Goods Demand Jump Points to U.S. Factory Pickup: Economy
Orders for durable goods in the U.S. rose in December for an unprecedented fourth consecutive month, indicating manufacturing will keep improving in 2013.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | D.C.’s minimum wage folly
The nation’s post-election leftward lurch is gaining momentum. Six states, including New York and California, are agitating for a boost in the minimum wage. Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, wants the federal government to set a nationwide wage floor that will automatically rise each year.
Fortune | Another brick in the recovery road: Revenue rebounds
Analysts and investors are normally focused on corporate profits. But the most interesting sign of where the market and the economy are headed this earnings season could be coming from the top of corporate ledgers, rather than the bottom.
Washington Post | Is America in decline?
The subtext of political debate these days is that the United States is in decline — a proposition often portrayed as self-evident. The economy lacks dynamism; unemployment near 8 percent remains at recession levels. The president and his Republican critics barely talk to each other; stalemate seems unending. But what if America isn’t in decline?
Blogs
Library of Economics | Government Hiring: Raising GDP by Definition
GDP, Gross Domestic Product. The number gets a lot of attention, deservedly. You'd be foolish to use it as your sole economic statistic but you'd be just as foolish to ignore it and go with your gut.
Economist | The return of the bubble?
American housing markets are at long last recovering from the epic bust that began in 2006. Sales, prices, and construction all seem to have reached a cyclical bottom.
WSJ | Corporate Economists Have Rosier View of 2013
Corporate economists are becoming more optimistic about 2013, in a new survey predicting the U.S. economy will expand at a fairly robust pace this year despite continued uncertainty in Washington.
Library of Economics | Learning About the Economy: Statistics or Uncle-Asking?
You can get your information about the economy from admittedly fallible statistical relationships, or you can ask your uncle. I, for one, have never hesitated over this choice. But I fear there may be altogether too much uncle-asking in government circles in general, and in central banking circles in particular.
Calculated Risk | Dallas Fed: Regional Manufacturing Activity "Strengthens" in January
Texas factory activity rose sharply in January, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.
