News
CNN Money | Japan's economy begins to grow again
Japan's economy performed better in the fourth quarter than previously thought, according to revised data released Friday that could embolden the government in its drive to stimulate growth and end deflation.
Bloomberg | Wholesale Inventories in U.S. Increase More Than Forecast
Inventories at U.S. wholesalers jumped in January by the most in more than a year as companies shrugged off concerns about fiscal policy and ramped up in anticipation of rising consumer demand.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | Four things Obama must do to boost trade
As President Barack Obama indicated in his State of the Union address, promoting growth and economic security are top priorities for his second term.
WSJ | The Financial Bonanza of Big Data
Every year, Amazon.com earns billions of dollars in revenue from its "personalization" technologies, such as product recommendations and computer-generated emails, that are estimated to account for as much as one-third of all sales. The amount of data needed to feed these tools is mammoth. But its value on Amazon's ledger? Zero.
Fortune | Stress test results: Banks could lose nearly half a trillion dollars
In its annual stress test of the nation's largest banks, the Federal Reserve estimated that these firms would lose $462 billion dollars if the economy were to enter another recession similar to the one we just had.
NBER | Winning the War: Poverty from the Great Society to the Great Recession
This paper considers the long-run patterns of poverty in the United States from the early 1960s to 2010. Our results contradict previous studies that have argued that poverty has shown little improvement over time or that anti-poverty efforts have been ineffective.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Advancing Economic Freedom: Leading from Behind Doesn’t Work
Advancing economic freedom around the world has markedly stagnated in recent years, particularly due to the lack of America’s leadership, says Terry Miller, chief editor of The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, in a recent interview with the Langley Intelligence Group Network.
Economist | Ready to work
Neither fiscal cliff, nor sequester, nor any other Washington chicanery can derail an American recovery that looks like maybe hitting its stride. Not yet, at least. Despite fears that a first quarter full of uncertainty over fiscal showdowns, expiring tax cuts, and automatic spending increases would present serious headwinds to the American economy, private firms seem willing to keep hiring, and at an impressive pace by the standards of this expansion.
Heritage Foundation | Morning Bell: Welfare Reform Is Back
Last summer, the Obama Administration gutted the successful 1996 welfare reform law by offering to waive its work requirements. Now the debate is back, as several Members of Congress are trying to restore the reforms that helped so many out of poverty.
WSJ | U.S. Deleveraging? Not So Fast
Here’s a status report on deleveraging in the U.S. economy, based on today’s flow of funds report, which tracks debt levels among households, business, financial institutions and government.
