News
FOX News | A half-decade later: Areas of US economy that have, and haven't, recovered from recession
From household wealth to spending at stores, many of the U.S. economy's vital signs have recovered from the damage done by the Great Recession.
Bloomberg | Lew to Push Growth Amid Contagion Concerns in First Europe Visit
Jacob J. Lew pivots to Europe, a region fraught with risks to the world economy, after making China his first overseas destination as Treasury secretary last month in a nod to the strongest engine of global growth.
FOX Business | Trade Deficit Narrows Unexpectedly
The U.S. trade gap narrowed unexpectedly in February as crude oil imports fell to their lowest level since March 1996 and overall exports increased slightly, a U.S. Commerce Department report on Friday showed.
Bloomberg | German Manufacturing Orders Increase More Than Forecast: Economy
German factory orders rose more than twice as much as economists forecast in February, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy returned to growth in the first quarter.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Burying crony capitalism
An established business knows that the most direct way to dominate the market is to enlist government assistance. Trade groups frequently seek the imposition of licensing requirements — in the name of public safety, of course.
Washington Times | Obamanomics, a synonym for failure
President Obama heads into the third month of his second term still unable to find a cure for a sluggish economy, weak employment numbers and his own slipping job approval scores.
AEI | Benefits of hydraulic fracking
If an average American heard the word 'fracking' ten years ago, chances are he or she would have worried about the manners of the speaker. Today, however, opinions about fracking are solidifying, and battle lines are being drawn, even if understanding remains sketchy.
Blogs
WSJ | Secondary Sources: Fiscal Adjustments, Interest Rates, Tax Refunds
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
Heritage Foundation | WSJ: Food Stamp Rolls Remain High Despite Economic Improvement
Since 2008, enrollment has increased by 70 percent, reaching a record 47.8 million this past December. Funding for the food stamp program—or, as it’s now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—has doubled since 2008, hitting nearly $80 billion in fiscal year 2012.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Health Care
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Medicare: Sequestration Cuts Small Potatoes Compared to Obamacare Cuts
In the past 24 hours, cancer patients’ access to Medicare treatment has been the focus of an alarming headline. In this case, the budget sequestration—an idea originally proposed and now routinely derided by President Obama—is identified as the culprit.
Heritage Foundation | Medicare: Sequestration Cuts Small Potatoes Compared to Obamacare Cuts
In the past 24 hours, cancer patients’ access to Medicare treatment has been the focus of an alarming headline. In this case, the budget sequestration—an idea originally proposed and now routinely derided by President Obama—is identified as the culprit.
Monetary
News
Bloomberg | Bank of Japan Joins Fed, ECB in Record Stimulus
After watching Ben S. Bernanke take unprecedented steps for four years to rebound from the worst recession since the Great Depression, the Bank of Japan (8301) is signaling that the Federal Reserve’s full-throttle approach to stimulus is the way to end 15 years of deflation.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | With Chaos Increasing, the Fed Must Cease Targeting
On March 15, 2013, just before news out of Cyprus would capture nearly all financial attention, the US Treasury issued a request for a "large position report" from institutions holding at least $2 billion par value of 2% US Treasury Notes maturing February 2023.
Bloomberg | Gold Bugs Had the Best Monetary Rule
Ever since the U.S. severed the last remnant of the dollar’s link to gold in 1971, economists have been searching for a new rule for monetary policy. The Great Inflation of the 1970s only reinforced the notion that rules trump discretion. But what sort of rule exactly?
Mercatus | The Federal Reserve's Expanding Regulatory Umbrella
The Federal Reserve’s performance as a regulator in the years leading up to the 2007–08 crisis earned it widespread criticism. In the wake of the crisis, its fate as a regulator was uncertain as Congress considered regulatory reforms.
Blogs
Economist | The bottleneck
Nominal interest rates, across the yield curve, have been tumbling since the early 1980s. Much of that reflects the defeat, across the rich world, of high inflation. But real interest rates have also been trending down for more than a decade, even at long time horizons.
The American | Financial Innovation — Illusory and Real
Some ‘innovations’ are merely new names for ways of lowering credit standards, running up leverage, and increasing risk. How do we know what’s real and what’s not?
Bloomberg | Bank of Japan Joins Fed, ECB in Record Stimulus
After watching Ben S. Bernanke take unprecedented steps for four years to rebound from the worst recession since the Great Depression, the Bank of Japan (8301) is signaling that the Federal Reserve’s full-throttle approach to stimulus is the way to end 15 years of deflation.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | With Chaos Increasing, the Fed Must Cease Targeting
On March 15, 2013, just before news out of Cyprus would capture nearly all financial attention, the US Treasury issued a request for a "large position report" from institutions holding at least $2 billion par value of 2% US Treasury Notes maturing February 2023.
Bloomberg | Gold Bugs Had the Best Monetary Rule
Ever since the U.S. severed the last remnant of the dollar’s link to gold in 1971, economists have been searching for a new rule for monetary policy. The Great Inflation of the 1970s only reinforced the notion that rules trump discretion. But what sort of rule exactly?
Mercatus | The Federal Reserve's Expanding Regulatory Umbrella
The Federal Reserve’s performance as a regulator in the years leading up to the 2007–08 crisis earned it widespread criticism. In the wake of the crisis, its fate as a regulator was uncertain as Congress considered regulatory reforms.
Blogs
Economist | The bottleneck
Nominal interest rates, across the yield curve, have been tumbling since the early 1980s. Much of that reflects the defeat, across the rich world, of high inflation. But real interest rates have also been trending down for more than a decade, even at long time horizons.
The American | Financial Innovation — Illusory and Real
Some ‘innovations’ are merely new names for ways of lowering credit standards, running up leverage, and increasing risk. How do we know what’s real and what’s not?
Taxes
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | The Tax Code Is A Hopeless Complex, Economy-Suffocating Mess
Throughout our population, experts and non-experts alike, the verdict is nearly unanimous. The U.S. tax code is a hopelessly complex mess, antithetical to growth, and is crammed with conflicting incentives, which screams for reform. But there is little agreement on how to repair it. My preferences are necessary, just, and ordained in heaven. Your preferences are unnecessary, unjust and counter-productive.
Forbes | The Tax Code Is A Hopeless Complex, Economy-Suffocating Mess
Throughout our population, experts and non-experts alike, the verdict is nearly unanimous. The U.S. tax code is a hopelessly complex mess, antithetical to growth, and is crammed with conflicting incentives, which screams for reform. But there is little agreement on how to repair it. My preferences are necessary, just, and ordained in heaven. Your preferences are unnecessary, unjust and counter-productive.
Employment
News
Market Watch | U.S. economy creates 88,000 jobs in March
The economy generated just 88,000 jobs in March - the smallest gain in nine months - and more people dropped out of the labor force, adding to a fresh pile of evidence that the pace of hiring in the United States has slowed. The unemployment rate fell a tick to 7.6% from 7.7%, the lowest rate since December 2007, but the decline stemmed from fewer Americans looking for work, according to Labor Department data.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Beware the Monthly Jobs-Report Chatter
April 5 brings us another "jobs day," the first Friday in each month, when the latest employment numbers come out. With much business-media fanfare, the numbers will be parsed for what they tell us about the economy and where it is headed. The jobs numbers do contain some valuable information, but they mean much less than is often assumed—because, as the Department of Labor cautions, they're estimates.
Market Watch | ‘Punch to the gut’: Reactions to March jobs report
Here are reactions from analysts and others to Friday’s jobs report showing the U.S. economy added just 88,000 jobs in March, far less than economist had expected.
Heritage Foundation | Research Review: Who Creates Jobs? Start-up Firms and New Businesses
Job creation is currently the Holy Grail for Washington policymakers. In order to craft better job policies, it is valuable to understand when, where, and by whom jobs are created. Rigorous data analysis tells us that start-up firms are disproportionate job creators and that new firms tend to appear in cities with smaller incumbent firms.
Blogs
WSJ | Don’t Blame Federal Budget Cuts for Weak Jobs, Yet
The March labor-market slowdown may have been caused in part by decisions from Washington. But don’t blame it all on budget cuts, yet.
Market Watch | U.S. economy creates 88,000 jobs in March
The economy generated just 88,000 jobs in March - the smallest gain in nine months - and more people dropped out of the labor force, adding to a fresh pile of evidence that the pace of hiring in the United States has slowed. The unemployment rate fell a tick to 7.6% from 7.7%, the lowest rate since December 2007, but the decline stemmed from fewer Americans looking for work, according to Labor Department data.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Beware the Monthly Jobs-Report Chatter
April 5 brings us another "jobs day," the first Friday in each month, when the latest employment numbers come out. With much business-media fanfare, the numbers will be parsed for what they tell us about the economy and where it is headed. The jobs numbers do contain some valuable information, but they mean much less than is often assumed—because, as the Department of Labor cautions, they're estimates.
Market Watch | ‘Punch to the gut’: Reactions to March jobs report
Here are reactions from analysts and others to Friday’s jobs report showing the U.S. economy added just 88,000 jobs in March, far less than economist had expected.
Heritage Foundation | Research Review: Who Creates Jobs? Start-up Firms and New Businesses
Job creation is currently the Holy Grail for Washington policymakers. In order to craft better job policies, it is valuable to understand when, where, and by whom jobs are created. Rigorous data analysis tells us that start-up firms are disproportionate job creators and that new firms tend to appear in cities with smaller incumbent firms.
Blogs
WSJ | Don’t Blame Federal Budget Cuts for Weak Jobs, Yet
The March labor-market slowdown may have been caused in part by decisions from Washington. But don’t blame it all on budget cuts, yet.
Budget
News
Politico | Boehner rejects Obama cuts-revenue proposal
House Speaker John Boehner immediately dismissed President Barack Obama’s package of significant new entitlement cuts tied to new tax revenues, calling them “no way to lead and move the country forward.”
National Journal | What That Lousy Jobs Report Means for a 'Spring Slump'
A disappointing jobs report this morning is sure to renew talk of yet another so-called spring slump in the U.S. economy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | The Truth About Taxes and Spending in Europe
Several European countries, including Cyprus, have been mired in economic stagnation or decline for five years or more. Yet other countries in Asia and Latin America have flourished. What are the weakest economies doing wrong? What are the strongest doing right?
Blogs
Economist | Austerity bites?
Until recently America's squabbling politicians have mostly resolved their fiscal differences by delaying them. That tactic came to a head at the end of last year, at which time a host of tax rises and spending cuts were scheduled to drop.
Politico | Boehner rejects Obama cuts-revenue proposal
House Speaker John Boehner immediately dismissed President Barack Obama’s package of significant new entitlement cuts tied to new tax revenues, calling them “no way to lead and move the country forward.”
National Journal | What That Lousy Jobs Report Means for a 'Spring Slump'
A disappointing jobs report this morning is sure to renew talk of yet another so-called spring slump in the U.S. economy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | The Truth About Taxes and Spending in Europe
Several European countries, including Cyprus, have been mired in economic stagnation or decline for five years or more. Yet other countries in Asia and Latin America have flourished. What are the weakest economies doing wrong? What are the strongest doing right?
Blogs
Economist | Austerity bites?
Until recently America's squabbling politicians have mostly resolved their fiscal differences by delaying them. That tactic came to a head at the end of last year, at which time a host of tax rises and spending cuts were scheduled to drop.
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