News
National Journal | Former Top Economic Officials Fret About Asset Bubbles
The stock market is soaring, the housing market is rebounding, and even the job market is showing signs of life (well, mostly). But a number of the country’s former top economic officials worry about potential dangers on the horizon created by the very agency that’s trying to rescue the labor market.
CNN Money | Future of Medicaid and food stamps at stake
More than $350 billion a year. That's how much the federal government spends on the nation's two largest safety net programs, Medicaid and food stamps.
Bloomberg | Recession Replaces Debt as Top EU Worry Amid Joblessness
European leaders are loosening the economic shackles once demanded by Germany as the recession and mounting unemployment in southern Europe shove aside the debt crisis as the euro area’s biggest headache.
WSJ | Americans on the Move Again
Americans have resumed moving from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and South—shaking off the effects of the recession and housing bust, which had made it more difficult to relocate.
CNBC | US Consumers Power Ahead, Despite Headwinds
The U.S. consumer is powering ahead at what could be the best levels since the financial crisis, despite economic headwinds and uncertainty in Washington.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | A free-market approach that works for energy
So how do we get from here to there? Here are three suggestions:
WSJ | Fannie, Freddie and the Government's House of Cards
The nascent housing price recovery is restoring health to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises that contributed so much to the crash of 2008. Both had earnings in 2012 and thus won't need money from the U.S. Treasury to cover operating losses. In the preceding three years they had cost the taxpayers over $180 billion.
Washington Times | Looking for a better way to sell the Keystone pipeline
No basketball coach would direct his players to cover everyone on the opposing team except their leading scorer. That would be a recipe for losing the game, not to mention the coach’s job. Yet virtually all supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, Canada’s oil sands to refineries in the United States are doing exactly that in their promotion of the project.
Blogs
WSJ | Secondary Sources: Economic Problem, Retirement, Keynesian Flaw
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
WSJ | Mortgage Rates Surpass 6-Month High
Average fixed mortgage rates in the U.S. rose over the past week amid signs of improvement in jobs growth and consumer spending, with 30-year fixed rates reaching the highest level in more than six months, according to mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac
