News
CNN Money | Consumers spending nearly 10% more than in 2009
American consumers are spending nearly 10% more than they did four years ago when the country was reeling from the effects of the financial crisis, according to an analysis of the spending behaviors of millions of Mint.com account holders.
Market Watch | Consumer-credit growth slows in March
U.S. consumers increased their debt in March by a seasonally adjusted $8.0 billion, the smallest increase since last July, the Federal Reserve said.
CNN Money | Oil companies target America for investment
Here's an intriguing switch in the energy market: U.S. oil firms have been selling off their assets overseas and investing the money in America's domestic fields.
CNBC | Demystifying the Economy-Stock Market Divide
Call it the "great" recession. Lombard Street insists the U.S. slipped into recession in the second quarter as the full brunt of the budget cuts known as the sequester hit. Even the rosiest of forecasters acknowledge growth slowed sharply from the first three months of the year. And yet major U.S. stock indexes continue swaggering to fresh all-time highs.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | College Is The Holy Grail, But Should Everyone Go?
The new Holy Grail in American life appears to be a four-year college degree. Almost all high school students and their parents aspire to go to college, and high school graduates are enrolling in much higher numbers than in the past.
Bloomberg | IMF’s Lipton Says U.S. Economy Held Back by Government
U.S. economic growth would reach as much as 4 percent if it weren’t held back by an underperforming government sector, said David Lipton, the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
Politico | How to talk about immigration reform
As we watch the Senate’s bipartisan Gang of Eight hold common ground on immigration reform, our MartÃnez and Martinez “Gang of Two” from opposite sides of the aisle adds its 2 centavos on language to use and avoid during the coming weeks of legislative sausage making. Because, as a few have already learned to their regret, words do matter when discussing this issue.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Health Care
News
Bloomberg | Hospital Charges Vary Across U.S. For Same Procedures
U.S. hospitals charge prices that, at times, can be thousands of dollars different for the same medical procedures, even within towns or states, according to federal data released today.
Bloomberg | Hospital Charges Vary Across U.S. For Same Procedures
U.S. hospitals charge prices that, at times, can be thousands of dollars different for the same medical procedures, even within towns or states, according to federal data released today.
Monetary
News
FOX Business | Fed's Credibility Tested as Inflation Drifts Below Target
With the U.S. inflation rate about half of the Federal Reserve's 2.0% target, the central bank is facing a major test and some experts wonder whether it will eventually need to ramp up its already aggressive bond buying program.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Japan May Regret Starting A Difficult Inflation Fire
Japanese policymakers might learn the hard way that one must be very careful about what you wish for. Having engaged in the most unorthodox monetary policy experiments to engender some inflation into the Japanese economy, they might find it difficult to get the inflation genie back into the bottle once the inflation process has been restarted.
Bloomberg | New Regulations Are Strangling Community Banks
The wave of new banking regulations that Congress created to deter and punish Wall Street’s misdeeds is landing with much greater impact on the U.S.’s almost 7,000 community banks than on the too-big-to-fail lenders.
FOX Business | Fed's Credibility Tested as Inflation Drifts Below Target
With the U.S. inflation rate about half of the Federal Reserve's 2.0% target, the central bank is facing a major test and some experts wonder whether it will eventually need to ramp up its already aggressive bond buying program.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Japan May Regret Starting A Difficult Inflation Fire
Japanese policymakers might learn the hard way that one must be very careful about what you wish for. Having engaged in the most unorthodox monetary policy experiments to engender some inflation into the Japanese economy, they might find it difficult to get the inflation genie back into the bottle once the inflation process has been restarted.
Bloomberg | New Regulations Are Strangling Community Banks
The wave of new banking regulations that Congress created to deter and punish Wall Street’s misdeeds is landing with much greater impact on the U.S.’s almost 7,000 community banks than on the too-big-to-fail lenders.
Taxes
News
Politico | Both sides leave tax reform door open a crack
Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, and White House economic adviser Gene Sperling danced around the types of compromises that will be necessary to cobble together bipartisan support for a major deficit-reduction package.
Politico | President Obama's cigarette tax up in smoke
Presidential budgets are all about theater. But this year’s was more theatrical than most: Its biggest single new proposal — the sin tax to generate $78 billion to fund a preschool education program — vanished almost as soon as Obama announced it four weeks ago Wednesday.
CNN Money | Many early tax filers still waiting for refunds
More than three months after rushing to file their taxes early, some filers still haven't received refunds from the IRS.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | The biggest tax catch
While pundits, politicians and economists are distracted by marginal tax rates and a possible Internet sales tax, President Obama may be preparing for the biggest of all trophies: a wealth tax.
Politico | Both sides leave tax reform door open a crack
Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, and White House economic adviser Gene Sperling danced around the types of compromises that will be necessary to cobble together bipartisan support for a major deficit-reduction package.
Politico | President Obama's cigarette tax up in smoke
Presidential budgets are all about theater. But this year’s was more theatrical than most: Its biggest single new proposal — the sin tax to generate $78 billion to fund a preschool education program — vanished almost as soon as Obama announced it four weeks ago Wednesday.
CNN Money | Many early tax filers still waiting for refunds
More than three months after rushing to file their taxes early, some filers still haven't received refunds from the IRS.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | The biggest tax catch
While pundits, politicians and economists are distracted by marginal tax rates and a possible Internet sales tax, President Obama may be preparing for the biggest of all trophies: a wealth tax.
Employment
Blogs
WSJ | A Positive Spin on the Legal Job Market
The job market for graduating law students is not quite as depressing as pundits and law school critics make it out to be. We’re just not tracking students long enough to see how they eventually fared.
WSJ | Slow Hiring Holding Back Job Market
The government on Tuesday released its monthly snapshot of job openings and turnover, known as JOLTS. The report echoed what other data, including Friday’s jobs report, already revealed: The job market cooled in March, though only mildly. Hiring and job openings fell modestly, while layoffs edged up.
WSJ | A Positive Spin on the Legal Job Market
The job market for graduating law students is not quite as depressing as pundits and law school critics make it out to be. We’re just not tracking students long enough to see how they eventually fared.
WSJ | Slow Hiring Holding Back Job Market
The government on Tuesday released its monthly snapshot of job openings and turnover, known as JOLTS. The report echoed what other data, including Friday’s jobs report, already revealed: The job market cooled in March, though only mildly. Hiring and job openings fell modestly, while layoffs edged up.
Budget
News
CNN Money | Current deficit plunges 32%
The annual deficit has fallen 32% over the first seven months of this fiscal year compared with same period last year, according to Congressional Budget Office figures released Tuesday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | A ray of hope in a gloomy economy
The U.S. budget deficit is dropping sharply. Hundreds of billions of dollars that analysts once thought the Treasury would be forced to borrow this year are rolling in steadily, thanks to tax-rate increases, spending cuts and economic growth.
CBO | Monthly Budget Review
The federal government ran a budget deficit of $489 billion in the first seven months of fiscal year 2013 (that is, from October 2012 through April 2013), according to CBO’s estimates.
CNN Money | Current deficit plunges 32%
The annual deficit has fallen 32% over the first seven months of this fiscal year compared with same period last year, according to Congressional Budget Office figures released Tuesday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | A ray of hope in a gloomy economy
The U.S. budget deficit is dropping sharply. Hundreds of billions of dollars that analysts once thought the Treasury would be forced to borrow this year are rolling in steadily, thanks to tax-rate increases, spending cuts and economic growth.
CBO | Monthly Budget Review
The federal government ran a budget deficit of $489 billion in the first seven months of fiscal year 2013 (that is, from October 2012 through April 2013), according to CBO’s estimates.
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