News
Bloomberg | Euro-Area Industrial Output Surpasses Forecasts: Economy
Euro-area industrial output expanded more than economists forecast in February, adding to signs that the economy is beginning to emerge from a recession.
National Journal | It's Easy to Fix Social Security
President Obama infuriated his left flank Wednesday by including in his budget a Social Security reform that ties the rate of its payouts to the rate of inflation.
CNN Money | No Easter bump: retail sales down in March
The Easter Bunny brought a letdown to retailers this year, as sales slumped in March, marking a weak start to the spring shopping season.
Washington Times | Shale oil find fuels boom in U.S. business
To John LaRue, the renaissance in U.S. manufacturing is no dream. It’s already here.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Can We Afford Another Housing Boom?
For the 12 months through January, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities shows an annual increase in home prices averaging 8.1%. Prices in Miami were up almost 11% on the year, the Las Vegas market enjoyed a pop of more than 15%, and in Phoenix prices jumped more than 23%. Not a single one of the 20 metropolitan areas in the index suffered an annual price decline.
Fortune | The fuel that could be the end of Ethanol
In 2007 we reported on biobutanol, a biofuel with the potential to solve many of the problems associated with ethanol. Since then, industry players like BP have been seeking ways to make a cost-efficient transition to the "advanced biofuel," and now a scientific breakthrough might finally make that possible.
Politico | CPI myths unchained
You walk through the Safeway deli section looking for lunch meat. The sliced turkey is what you wanted, but the price is a little high. So you check out the ham, like the price, toss it in the cart and go merrily on your way. Watch out - you’ve just committed chain-weighted CPI.
WSJ | Now He's After Your 401(k)
How many times have you read financial-advice stories lecturing you to max-out on your IRA, save as much as you can in your 401(k), and even pay taxes now to change your regular IRA into a Roth IRA that will be tax-free until you die?
Blogs
WSJ | Who Makes Up the ‘Working Poor’ in America?
Roughly 46 million people in the U.S., or 15% of the population, lived below the official poverty line in 2011 ($11,484 for an individual or $23,021 for a family of four per year). About 10.4 million of them are considered part of the “working poor.” That means they spent at least half the year in the labor force (working or looking for work), but they still fell below the poverty level.
CATO | Duplicative Government Programs Are a Symptom of the Problem
The Government Accountability Office has released its third annual report on fragmented, overlapping, or duplicative federal programs and activities. Proponents of making the government more efficient view the findings as an opportunity to achieve cost savings.
Washington Times | Which makes us more miserable: inflation or unemployment?
When people grumble about the bad economy, they are often referring to one of two things: rapid inflation or crippling unemployment.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Health Care
News
Politico | Cost of exchanges shoots up
The Obama administration’s best guess of how much it will spend to subsidize insurance on Obamacare exchanges shot up substantially this year thanks in large part to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | States’ rare chance to expand Medicaid
A proposal unveiled by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam late last month leverages federal funds to purchase private coverage for new Medicaid eligibles in the state’s health insurance exchange. In recent weeks, Arkansas became the first state to embrace a similar plan.
Politico | Cost of exchanges shoots up
The Obama administration’s best guess of how much it will spend to subsidize insurance on Obamacare exchanges shot up substantially this year thanks in large part to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | States’ rare chance to expand Medicaid
A proposal unveiled by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam late last month leverages federal funds to purchase private coverage for new Medicaid eligibles in the state’s health insurance exchange. In recent weeks, Arkansas became the first state to embrace a similar plan.
Monetary
News
Bloomberg | Wholesale Prices in U.S. Fall More Than Forecast on Energy
Wholesale prices in the U.S. fell more than forecast in March as the cost of energy slumped by the most in three years.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Market Watch | Fed's Rosengren backs 'highly accommodative' view
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren on Friday made the case for the central bank's current policy without hitting the brakes.
Real Clear Markets | Ideology Drives the Fed, And It Has Nothing To Do With Free Markets
The Japanese bond market has seen a plethora of fireworks ever since the Bank of Japan stopped announcing intentions and started doing balance sheet expansion. The extreme volatility in Japanese government bond prices indicates both the unprecedented nature of "liquidity" being unleashed and a tremendous amount of uncertainty as to just how it will eventually affect, well, everything.
Blogs
Economist | The mystery of stable prices
Why hasn't there been deflation? That has been one of the central mysteries of the Great Recession and its aftermath. In the 1930s soaring unemployment led to galloping deflation. In the early 1980s a 4.5 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate came alongside a drop in the core inflation rate from about 12% to under 3%.
Bloomberg | Wholesale Prices in U.S. Fall More Than Forecast on Energy
Wholesale prices in the U.S. fell more than forecast in March as the cost of energy slumped by the most in three years.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Market Watch | Fed's Rosengren backs 'highly accommodative' view
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren on Friday made the case for the central bank's current policy without hitting the brakes.
Real Clear Markets | Ideology Drives the Fed, And It Has Nothing To Do With Free Markets
The Japanese bond market has seen a plethora of fireworks ever since the Bank of Japan stopped announcing intentions and started doing balance sheet expansion. The extreme volatility in Japanese government bond prices indicates both the unprecedented nature of "liquidity" being unleashed and a tremendous amount of uncertainty as to just how it will eventually affect, well, everything.
Blogs
Economist | The mystery of stable prices
Why hasn't there been deflation? That has been one of the central mysteries of the Great Recession and its aftermath. In the 1930s soaring unemployment led to galloping deflation. In the early 1980s a 4.5 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate came alongside a drop in the core inflation rate from about 12% to under 3%.
Taxes
News
CNN Money | How Obama's budget would hit the rich
Throughout his time in the White House, President Obama has pushed for the wealthiest Americans to pay more.
Washington Times | Taxpayers beware: Federal tax collections to hit record highs
There’s some fine print in President Obama’s budget plan presented Wednesday, and taxpayers beware: Collections are going to break records in the coming years.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CATO | Tax Havens Allow Economic Vitality
From an economic perspective, tax havens are very valuable because they discourage anti-growth tax policy. Simply stated, it is very difficult for governments to impose and enforce confiscatory tax rates when investors and entrepreneurs can shift their economic activity to jurisdictions with better tax policy.
CNN Money | How Obama's budget would hit the rich
Throughout his time in the White House, President Obama has pushed for the wealthiest Americans to pay more.
Washington Times | Taxpayers beware: Federal tax collections to hit record highs
There’s some fine print in President Obama’s budget plan presented Wednesday, and taxpayers beware: Collections are going to break records in the coming years.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CATO | Tax Havens Allow Economic Vitality
From an economic perspective, tax havens are very valuable because they discourage anti-growth tax policy. Simply stated, it is very difficult for governments to impose and enforce confiscatory tax rates when investors and entrepreneurs can shift their economic activity to jurisdictions with better tax policy.
Employment
Econ Comments & Analysis
TIME | How ‘Made in the USA’ is Making a Comeback
The U.S. economy continues to struggle, and the weak March jobs report — just 88,000 positions were added — briefly spooked the market. But step back and you’ll see a bright spot, perhaps the best economic news the U.S. has witnessed since the rise of Silicon Valley: Made in the USA is making a comeback.
TIME | How ‘Made in the USA’ is Making a Comeback
The U.S. economy continues to struggle, and the weak March jobs report — just 88,000 positions were added — briefly spooked the market. But step back and you’ll see a bright spot, perhaps the best economic news the U.S. has witnessed since the rise of Silicon Valley: Made in the USA is making a comeback.
Budget
News
Politico | OMB off the mark on budget cuts
After ducking POLITICO’s questions for days, the White House’s new 2014 budget provides some answers about how far the administration was off the mark last week when it ordered $876 million rescinded from domestic appropriations for the last six months of this fiscal year.
CNN Money | No extra cash for Cyprus from EU or IMF
The European Union and International Monetary Fund will not give Cyprus extra cash to help plug gaping holes in its finances over the next three years, officials said Friday.
CNBC | 5 Fiscal Secrets Buried In Obama’s Budget
President Obama submitted a 244-page budget proposal on Wednesday for next year—a tome that met with instant criticism before anyone could read it.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Budget busted, nation broken
The White House was supposed to have submitted its budget two months ago. Now that it finally got around to outlining the federal government’s plans for the fiscal year, we can see that it wasn’t worth the wait.
AEI | A budget to reject
The Obama administration has taken great pains to cultivate the impression in the media that the president’s 2014 budget plan is a genuine effort at compromise.
NY Times | Deficit Reduction, Minus the Reduction
In one critical area — long-term deficit reduction — the president has offered less than not only the House Republican budget but also the proposal by the Senate Democrats. Over a 10-year horizon, his deficit-reduction plan doesn’t have enough, well, deficit reduction.
Politico | OMB off the mark on budget cuts
After ducking POLITICO’s questions for days, the White House’s new 2014 budget provides some answers about how far the administration was off the mark last week when it ordered $876 million rescinded from domestic appropriations for the last six months of this fiscal year.
CNN Money | No extra cash for Cyprus from EU or IMF
The European Union and International Monetary Fund will not give Cyprus extra cash to help plug gaping holes in its finances over the next three years, officials said Friday.
CNBC | 5 Fiscal Secrets Buried In Obama’s Budget
President Obama submitted a 244-page budget proposal on Wednesday for next year—a tome that met with instant criticism before anyone could read it.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Budget busted, nation broken
The White House was supposed to have submitted its budget two months ago. Now that it finally got around to outlining the federal government’s plans for the fiscal year, we can see that it wasn’t worth the wait.
AEI | A budget to reject
The Obama administration has taken great pains to cultivate the impression in the media that the president’s 2014 budget plan is a genuine effort at compromise.
NY Times | Deficit Reduction, Minus the Reduction
In one critical area — long-term deficit reduction — the president has offered less than not only the House Republican budget but also the proposal by the Senate Democrats. Over a 10-year horizon, his deficit-reduction plan doesn’t have enough, well, deficit reduction.
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