News
Bloomberg | Confidence Improves as U.S. Consumers’ Views on Economy Mend
Consumer sentiment advanced last week, an indication that gains in housing and stock markets are bolstering Americans’ outlooks on the economy.
CNN Money | 4 federal agencies to shut Friday
Got a question about tax refunds, polluters or subsidized housing? Don't expect an answer this Friday.
Politico | House passes bill approving Keystone pipeline
The House approved legislation Wednesday to green-light the Keystone XL oil pipeline, giving Republicans a messaging victory heading into the Memorial Day recess.
FOX Business | China Data, Fed Worries Pummel Global Markets
Share markets fell sharply on Thursday as investors piled back into safer assets, unnerved by the twin setbacks of unexpected weakness in China's economy and signals that the U.S. central bank may soon scale back its stimulus programme.
CNN Money | Home sales continue to climb
Home sales continued to climb in April, according to the latest reading on the housing recovery from an industry trade group.
Bloomberg | Euro-Area Services, Factory Gauge Rises More Than Estimated
A euro-area services and factory output gauge increased more than economists forecast in May, adding to signs the currency bloc is starting to emerge from its record-long recession.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Post | Economy needs both reform and investment
One way President Obama can begin to put the IRS scandal behind him is by proposing comprehensive tax reform. Beyond the usual Washington theatrics, the real problem is that the U.S. tax code is unbelievably complicated, clocking in around 74,000 pages, with all rulings, regulations and other material.
Politico | The stakes of U.S. prosperity, LNG trade
It is a rare opportunity that isolates Iran, undermines Russian energy dominance and broadly benefits the U.S. economy. But those are the stakes for Americannei prosperity as the Obama administration contemplates whether to allow the trade of natural gas with our closest allies.
CNN Money | Watch out. The mortgage securities market is at it again.
We thought the Dodd-Frank financial-reform law fixed all this by requiring securitizers to keep some skin in the game.
Blogs
WSJ | Four Reasons Housing Recovery Isn’t Yet Boosting Economy
The housing market may finally be leaning on the economy’s gas pedal—but it’s also keeping a foot on the brake.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Health Care
News
WSJ | Two States Seek Help With Health Exchanges
Two states that had planned to run their own health-insurance exchanges this fall are asking the federal government for help in the first year, a sign of the obstacles states face in carrying out a centerpiece of the health-care overhaul.
WSJ | Two States Seek Help With Health Exchanges
Two states that had planned to run their own health-insurance exchanges this fall are asking the federal government for help in the first year, a sign of the obstacles states face in carrying out a centerpiece of the health-care overhaul.
Monetary
News
Businessweek | How Much of a Dove Is Bernanke, Really?
Is the Federal Reserve doing too much to stimulate the economy, or not enough? Many of the questions that Chairman Ben Bernanke got in today’s congressional testimony were about the risks of the Fed’s doing too much: overdoing easy monetary policy and thus penalizing savers, or inflating fresh bubbles in asset markets.
NY Times | Fed Endorses Stimulus, but the Message Is Garbled
Despite signs of improvement in the job market, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, and most other Fed officials signaled Wednesday that they remained cautious about easing back too quickly on their efforts to stimulate the economy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | Bernanke Says Premature Tightening Would Endanger Recovery
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s record stimulus program under questioning from lawmakers, telling them that ending it prematurely would endanger a recovery hampered by high unemployment and government spending cuts.
WSJ | The Fed Squeezes the Shadow-Banking System
Here is the great economic paradox of our time: Despite the Federal Reserve's vast, 4½-year program of quantitative easing, the economy is still weak, with unemployment still high and labor-force participation down. And with all the money pumped into the economy, why is there no runaway inflation?
Blogs
WSJ | Volcker: Multiple Bank Regulators Is ‘Recipe for Getting Nothing Done’
Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, says the U.S. has too many agencies charged with the supervision and regulation of banks.
Businessweek | How Much of a Dove Is Bernanke, Really?
Is the Federal Reserve doing too much to stimulate the economy, or not enough? Many of the questions that Chairman Ben Bernanke got in today’s congressional testimony were about the risks of the Fed’s doing too much: overdoing easy monetary policy and thus penalizing savers, or inflating fresh bubbles in asset markets.
NY Times | Fed Endorses Stimulus, but the Message Is Garbled
Despite signs of improvement in the job market, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, and most other Fed officials signaled Wednesday that they remained cautious about easing back too quickly on their efforts to stimulate the economy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | Bernanke Says Premature Tightening Would Endanger Recovery
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s record stimulus program under questioning from lawmakers, telling them that ending it prematurely would endanger a recovery hampered by high unemployment and government spending cuts.
WSJ | The Fed Squeezes the Shadow-Banking System
Here is the great economic paradox of our time: Despite the Federal Reserve's vast, 4½-year program of quantitative easing, the economy is still weak, with unemployment still high and labor-force participation down. And with all the money pumped into the economy, why is there no runaway inflation?
Blogs
WSJ | Volcker: Multiple Bank Regulators Is ‘Recipe for Getting Nothing Done’
Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, says the U.S. has too many agencies charged with the supervision and regulation of banks.
Taxes
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | A Populist Argument For Eliminating The Corporate Tax
The U.S. is now in the fifth year of the Obama recovery, which began just a few months into his first administration. His spokespeople have argued strenuously that we’ve had a number of months of economic and job growth, and therefore we’re on the right track. However, by almost any reasonable standard it has been a dismal recovery. Indeed, every recession is followed by a recovery, so an increase in GDP and jobs is not noteworthy in and of itself.
Fortune | 6-step guide to dodging taxes just like Apple
It's faddish -- and fun -- these days to talk about the income taxes that Apple does or doesn't pay. Hey, as we learned this week from a Senate report and hearings, Apple's tax strategems are even slicker than its products are. Many of them involve the "intellectual property" gambit that multinational companies frequently use.
Fortune | Inside Amazon's tax fight
For many years, Amazon.com enjoyed a crucial leg up compared to traditional retailers like Barnes & Noble, Sears, and Wal-Mart: The e-tailer didn't charge sales taxes to its customers. The result: Amazon benefited from as much as a 10% pricing advantage over its rivals, one key reason behind the company's meteoric rise.
Forbes | IRS Scandal Is The Latest Evidence That We Need A Fair Tax
The IRS is one of the two great instrumentalities of progressivism (the other is the Federal Reserve). Progressivism holds that, when they wrote the U.S. Constitution, James Madison and the other Founders basically got it wrong.
Forbes | A Populist Argument For Eliminating The Corporate Tax
The U.S. is now in the fifth year of the Obama recovery, which began just a few months into his first administration. His spokespeople have argued strenuously that we’ve had a number of months of economic and job growth, and therefore we’re on the right track. However, by almost any reasonable standard it has been a dismal recovery. Indeed, every recession is followed by a recovery, so an increase in GDP and jobs is not noteworthy in and of itself.
Fortune | 6-step guide to dodging taxes just like Apple
It's faddish -- and fun -- these days to talk about the income taxes that Apple does or doesn't pay. Hey, as we learned this week from a Senate report and hearings, Apple's tax strategems are even slicker than its products are. Many of them involve the "intellectual property" gambit that multinational companies frequently use.
Fortune | Inside Amazon's tax fight
For many years, Amazon.com enjoyed a crucial leg up compared to traditional retailers like Barnes & Noble, Sears, and Wal-Mart: The e-tailer didn't charge sales taxes to its customers. The result: Amazon benefited from as much as a 10% pricing advantage over its rivals, one key reason behind the company's meteoric rise.
Forbes | IRS Scandal Is The Latest Evidence That We Need A Fair Tax
The IRS is one of the two great instrumentalities of progressivism (the other is the Federal Reserve). Progressivism holds that, when they wrote the U.S. Constitution, James Madison and the other Founders basically got it wrong.
Employment
News
CNN Money | Jobless claims fall, pointing to better May
About 340,000 people filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Labor Department. That's 23,000 fewer initial claims than in the prior week, and a lower number than economists had expected.
CNN Money | Jobless claims fall, pointing to better May
About 340,000 people filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Labor Department. That's 23,000 fewer initial claims than in the prior week, and a lower number than economists had expected.
Budget
News
Washington Times | Conservatives propose compromise of balanced budget, higher debt limit
Conservative Republicans said Wednesday that they will demand that Congress produce a budget that balances in 10 years in exchange for agreeing to raise the federal debt limit, and that House Speaker John A. Boehner promised as much during a GOP retreat this year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Bernanke: Budget restraint holds back growth
The economy is growing moderately and employment has picked up recently, but growth continues to be held back by budget constraints, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified Wednesday.
Mercatus | The Effect of Tax Increases and Spending Cuts on Economic Growth
Good morning, Chairman Murray, Ranking Member Sessions, and members of the committee. Thank you for the chance to discuss the effect of tax increases and spending cuts on economic growth. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today.
Washington Times | Conservatives propose compromise of balanced budget, higher debt limit
Conservative Republicans said Wednesday that they will demand that Congress produce a budget that balances in 10 years in exchange for agreeing to raise the federal debt limit, and that House Speaker John A. Boehner promised as much during a GOP retreat this year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Bernanke: Budget restraint holds back growth
The economy is growing moderately and employment has picked up recently, but growth continues to be held back by budget constraints, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified Wednesday.
Mercatus | The Effect of Tax Increases and Spending Cuts on Economic Growth
Good morning, Chairman Murray, Ranking Member Sessions, and members of the committee. Thank you for the chance to discuss the effect of tax increases and spending cuts on economic growth. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today.
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