News
Bloomberg | UPS Cuts 2013 Earnings Forecast on U.S. Economic Slowdown
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), the world’s biggest package delivery company, cut its 2013 earnings forecast, saying a slowing U.S. economy hurt second-quarter profit and revenue. The stock dropped the most since 2011.
CNN Money | The case for $70 oil
There's an old adage in the oil industry: The best cure for high prices is high prices. Soaring prices lead to new investment, bringing new supplies to market. And that's exactly what's been happening since crude prices went off to the races nearly a decade ago.
WSJ | Senators Want to Resurrect Depression-Era Curbs on Risk Taking
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), one of Wall Street's most outspoken critics, is putting her populist muscle behind a bipartisan bill to reinstate Depression-era laws separating plain-vanilla banking activities from riskier investment-banking bets.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | The North American Global Powerhouse
Discussions of rising economies usually focus on Asia, Africa and the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China. But what may well be the most important development of all is often overlooked: the arrival of North America as a global powerhouse. What's going on?
Washington Post | The IMF’s dreary report card
The International Monetary Fund’s latest global economic forecast makes for unhappy reading. You may remember that, some years back, it was fashionable to ask whether the world economy could continue “flying on one engine” — meaning the United States. America’s boom and import appetite boosted other economies.
Washington Times | Fracking is greener than critics claim
The only thing deeper than a natural-gas well is the ignorance of the anti-fracking crowd.
Fortune | The magical world of Fannie Mae accounting
Fannie Mae converted a huge non-cash profit into a deficit-reducing payment to the Treasury by borrowing the money without having it count as part of the national debt even though taxpayers guarantee it. Too bad we can't all use that stratagem to pay our own bills.
CATO | Transatlantic Regulatory Trade Barriers
This week, trade negotiators from the U.S. and EU are meeting in Washington to begin discussions on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Even before negotiations have begun, issues such as protection for French films from well-financed Hollywood competition have generated significant controversy. Will Iron Man,Superman and Spiderman be able to break open the French market? There is little doubt that liberalizing trade between two of the world’s economic superpowers, with all of their various interest groups, presents some challenges.
Blogs
Economist | Traders versus economists
Traders and economists both spend their days studying markets, yet I’m struck by how differently they approach the subject. Since traders profit from finding mispricings, they are biased to believe that prices are more often wrong than right. Fundamentals matter, but traders believe they are routinely overwhelmed by psychology, liquidity and other non fundamental factors.
