News
Politico | Banking groups split on 'too big to fail'
Two of the largest bank lobbying groups each wants to be the voice of community banks in Washington, but when it comes to the reinvigorated debate over “too big to fail” — they are taking decidedly different positions.
Washington Post | German consumer confidence rises, unemployment remains low despite European financial crisis
Germany’s unemployment rate held steady in April, the Federal Labor Agency reported Tuesday, while a survey showed German consumers’ mood remained robust — two new signs that Europe’s largest economy is continuing to weather the European financial crisis.
Washington Times | Consumer confidence up on better hiring outlook
Americans’ confidence in the economy jumped this month, helped by a better outlook for the job market and expectations for higher pay.
CNBC | Mortgage Applications Rose Last Week as Rates Fell
Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week, fueled by demand for refinancings as interest rates dropped, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fortune | Obama has a sweet retirement package. Will you?
President Obama's proposal to limit the value of 401(k)s, pensions, and other tax-favored retirement accounts to about $3.4 million certainly sounds reasonable. After all, at a time of big budget deficits, we shouldn't subsidize "the rich" with tax breaks, should we?
Washington Times | The high cost of zero
The count is 1,920, and rising. That’s how many regulations President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promulgated since his 2009 inauguration. Many, if not most, will bring few health or environmental benefits — but will impose high economic and unemployment costs, often to advance the administration’s unabashedly anti-hydrocarbon agenda.
Fortune | Study: Megabanks may disappear
A report about the global banking industry by Boston Consulting Group, which was released on Tuesday, says new regulations and less business will force the big banks to dramatically shrink.
Real Clear Markets | A Realist's View of the Global Trading System
There is great lamentation these days about the state of the multilateral trading system and its institutional symbol, the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Doha Round of multilateral negotiations has now dragged on for twelve years, with no end in sight on major issues.
Blogs
WSJ | The Myth of the Manufacturing ‘Renaissance’
Morgan Stanley has firmly joined the “Where’s the beef?” crowd when it comes to America’s supposed factory renaissance.
Heritage Foundation | Uncle Sam Wants You… on Food Stamps?
Across the country, states are courting participants for food stamps (now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) even has a webpage dedicated to helping states create “SNAP Outreach Plans.”
WSJ | Who Claims the Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction?
One lesson we learned from the housing-market collapse is if you encourage Americans to borrow — by making home-mortgage interest tax deductible — people will borrow more, maybe too much for their own good. But who exactly tends to take advantage of this tax benefit?
