News
Bloomberg | G-20 at Odds Over Fiscal Goals as Fails to Meet 2010 Aim
Group of 20 governments disagreed over the strength of new fiscal goals as they risk missing the targets set three years ago.
Market Watch | Feb Empire index above zero, first time since July
The Empire State manufacturing index moved into positive territory for the first time since July, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said Friday.
FOX Business | The Government Redefines 'Investment'
When the president says that the country needs more "investment" it is crucial to note that this is code for more printing of money. What that means is further and significant devaluation of our dollar, which will disproportionately hurt the middle class.
Bloomberg | Production Unexpectedly Decreases as U.S. Factories Cool
Industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly shrank in January as factories took a breather after the biggest back-to-back gain in three decades.
Market Watch | U.S. consumer sentiment rises: Univ. of Mich.
The University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment gauge rose to a preliminary February reading of 76.3 -- the highest level since November -- from a final January reading of 73.8, reports said Friday.
Bloomberg | Foreign Demand for U.S. Assets Rises on Global Slowdown
International purchases of U.S. stocks, bonds and other financial assets rose more than forecast in December as investors sought shelter from slowing global growth.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | How Do Countries Grow Rich? It's Much Easier Than You Think
Economists have been talking for decades about why some countries get wealthy, and some do not. It was the subject of Adam Smith’s famous book, The Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. I suggest that the secret could be expressed in four words: Low Taxes, Stable Money. I call this the Magic Formula.
WSJ | Generational Theft Needs to Be Arrested
We come from different backgrounds, parties and pursuits but are bound by a common belief in the promise and purpose of America. After all, each of us has been the beneficiary of the choices made—and opportunities created—by previous generations of Americans.
Washington Times | Obama’s duct-tape economic plan
President Obama’s second-term wish list to jump-start his stalled, job-starved economy looked a lot like his warmed-over, half-baked proposals of the past.
Fortune | Why some homeowners are turning down free money
Borrowers who are still smarting from the mortgage crisis are passing up some real deals and missing out on real cash.
Washington Post | A natural gas strategy Democrats should heed
“THE NATURAL-GAS boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence,” President Obama declared in his State of the Union addressTuesday night. “That’s why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.”
NBER | Size-Dependent Regulations, Firm Size Distribution, and Reallocation
In France, firms with 50 employees or more face substantially more regulation than firms with less than 50. As a result, the size distribution of firms is visibly distorted: there are many firms with exactly 49 employees.
CATO | Barack Obama’s Warfare State
In his fifth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama hit all the main talking points that everyone expected he would. What he did not say, though, should concern many Americans.
