News
CNN Money | Housing is key to Fed's ability to reach middle class
Although the Fed has been juicing the economy since late 2008, it doesn't feel that way to many people on Main Street. That's because a key part of the process has broken down.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Earth to Obama: Economic policy is in a tailspin
The national news media has been in hyperdrive since President Obama’s inauguration, trying to persuade us that the U.S. economy is getting stronger.
Bloomberg | Empirical Economics Isn’t Yet as Smart as Dentistry
In macroeconomics, ideas are more powerful than facts. That’s a shame, but it isn’t a criticism. Even with the best will in the world (a condition, admittedly, that’s rarely satisfied) economists who debate fiscal and monetary policy couldn’t settle their disagreements by appealing to facts. Their discipline is too difficult, or too far from being a proper science, for that to happen. Ideas trump data time and again.
Blogs
WSJ | OECD Chief Says Global Economy to Gain From Japan Monetary Stimulus
The global economy stands to gain if Japan’s controversial monetary stimulus pays off, but a prolonged period of loose monetary policy in advanced economies is fueling a worrying run up in financial markets, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.
WSJ | Muted Forecasts for Global Growth
The latest forecasts for global growth don’t make for very upbeat reading. In reports issued this week, the Institute of International Finance and the International Monetary Fund both see the global recovery proceeding, but at a very sluggish pace.
