News
CNN Money | Americans spent more on gas, less at the mall
Americans spent more at the gas pump and less at department stores in February, but overall, stronger retail sales data show the U.S. consumer is holding up.
CNN Money | European factory output falls sharply
Industrial production in Europe sank faster than expected in January, raising the risk that a long-awaited return to growth will be further delayed.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Drill, Barack, Drill
President Obama does a neat John D. Rockefeller imitation these days, taking credit for soaring domestic oil and gas production as if he planned it that way. Not quite. As a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports shows, "All of the increased [oil] production from 2007 to 2012 took place on non-federal lands."
Market Watch | Economy should regain speed, top forecaster says
The U.S. economy has hit some potholes, but should regain its momentum in the second half of the year, says J.P. Morgan chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli, the winner of the MarketWatch’s Forecaster of the Month award for February.
WSJ | Made in America, and Everywhere Else
President Obama has entered his second term calling for a revival of U.S. manufacturing. He is championing an "Advanced Manufacturing Technologies" initiative intended to spur the development and commercial deployment of American-made high-tech goods.
Mercatus | Farm Subsidies Must Die
On January 2, President Barack Obama signed a bill designed to avert the fiscal cliff. At the same time, to slightly less fanfare, he averted the “milk cliff.” By extending the 2008 farm bill another nine months, he prevented the automatic revival of a 1949 law requiring the federal government to buy dairy products under certain circumstances, effectively setting a floor for the price of milk. While the actual fate of milk prices was far from clear, the milk cliff provided cover to continue the practices of subsidizing wealthy farmers, to the detriment of just about everyone else.
Blogs
CATO | Obama’s Trade Policy Should Be Judged on Its Accomplishments, Not Its Promise
There has been more buzz about the prospects for trade liberalization this year than at any time since the first term of the second president Bush. It appears that some may be mistaking the chatter for actual accomplishment.
Calculated Risk | MBA: Mortgage Applications decrease, Mortgage Rates highest since August 2012
The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier.
