News
Bloomberg | Consumer Comfort in U.S. Rises to Five-Year High on Economy View
Consumer confidence climbed last week to the highest level in more than five years as Americans became less pessimistic about the economy.
FOX Business | U.S. Manufacturing Sector Heats Up
The pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector accelerated in July to the highest level in two years as new orders surged, supporting the view the economy will pick up in the second half of the year, an industry report showed on Thursday.
Bloomberg | Construction Spending in U.S. Unexpectedly Declined in June
Construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in June for the first time in three months, easing off an almost four-year high amid government cutbacks.
Market Watch | 30-yr fixed-rate mortgage climbs: Freddie Mac
The rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.39% in the week ending Aug. 1, up from 4.31% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.
CNBC | US economy should be growing at 3-4%: Former Fed governor
The U.S. economy has the ability to grow at a rate of 3-4 percent if policy makers removed the constraints obstructing its potential, former Federal governor Robert Heller told CNBC on Thursday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | All This Inequality Talk Does Nothing for the Poor
Like any immigrant, I’m optimistic about the U.S. The crash will recede, confidence will come back and stronger growth will resume. The zeal of ordinary Americans to work hard and prosper will prevail over the weary incompetence of the political class. If I wanted to be pessimistic, though, I know what I’d be dwelling on right now: the new preoccupation with inequality.
WSJ | Data of Prosperity Past
The good news is that the Commerce Department's second-quarter GDP report shows that the U.S. is richer and the economy larger than previously believed. The bad news is that this has nothing to do with anything that has happened lately, and certainly not in the last nine months. The current not-so-great economic recovery trudges on.
Washington Times | The economics of no growth
On Sunday, The New York Times released a picture of President Obama giving an interview to its reporters in Galesburg, Ill. Truth be told, he looked surprisingly gaunt. Not to put too sharp a point on it, but he looked desperate.
WSJ | How Obama Neglects the Poor
Amid falling approval ratings and an economy that continues to sputter, President Obama launched an economic-policy tour in recent days with speeches in Illinois, Missouri, Florida and Tennessee. What he said was familiar—a list of the president's favorite programs and grievances against Republicans. The White House let it be known that the speeches were intended to position Mr. Obama as a champion of the middle class. But not, unfortunately, a champion of those most in need.
Mercatus | On the Human Costs of the US Regulatory System: Should Congress Pressure Agencies to Make Rules Faster?
Chairman Blumenthal, Ranking Member Hatch, and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I am an economist and senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a 501(c)(3) research, educational, and outreach organization in Arlington, Virginia. My primary research focuses on the regulatory process and how it could be improved, so I am delighted to testify on today’s topic.
AEI | The US is headed for another recession in 2014
Four years after the end of the Great Recession, the United States economy is still struggling to get back on its feet. The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its new real gross domestic product growth estimates. In the second quarter of 2013, the US economy grew at 1.7 per cent and its first quarter growth was revised down to 1.1 per cent from the 1.8 per cent June estimates.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Want to Rebuild Opportunity, Mr. President? Start with Welfare Reform
In the kick-off to his most recent speaking tour, President Obama said the United States must “rebuild ladders of opportunity for all those Americans who haven’t quite made it yet.” But his economic policies have actually made it harder for many Americans to escape poverty and a welfare system that does little to promote self-sufficiency.
Heritage Foundation | Economic Growth Remains Too Slow Because of Policy Uncertainty
Today’s report on gross domestic product (GDP) shows that not much changed in the economy during the second quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s initial estimate shows that economic growth was just 1.7 percent from April 1 through June 30—well below the rate the economy should be growing this far into a recovery from a recession.
