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Monday, June 3, 2013

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | U.S. manufacturers contract in May, ISM says
U.S. manufacturers contracted in May for the first time since last fall, according to a closely followed index.
Bloomberg | European Manufacturing Gauges Climb as Outlook Improves
Euro-area manufacturing output contracted less than initially estimated in May and a U.K. factory index surged, underscoring Mario Draghi’s view that the European economy is stabilizing.
FOX Business | Auto Sales Continue to Hint at Sector Rebound
Major automakers in the U.S. kept up their sales momentum last month on demand for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, continuing to hint at a full-scale industry rebound.
CNN Money | Indicators present muddled picture of China's factories
Economic reports seeking to gauge activity in China's factories during the month of May have presented investors with a muddled picture, with official indicators from the state outpacing those of private forecasters.
Market Watch | Construction spending rises 0.4% in April
Construction spending rose 0.4% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Monday.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Fortune | What the markets are trying to tell us
Those trading in many market segments would have noticed a subtle change last week: Volatility is on the rise, liquidity is getting tougher in certain places, correlations are morphing, and anxiety has increased. Moreover, rather than impact all market segments simultaneously, such dislocations seem to be cascading gradually from the least liquid to the more liquid ones.
Forbes | Economically, Could Obama Be America's Worst President?
The recession ended four years ago, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.  So Obamanomics has had plenty of time to produce a solid recovery.  In fact, since the American historical record is the worse the recession, the stronger the recovery, Obama should have had an easy time producing a booming recovery by now.
AEI | Welcome to the recovery: Year five
Happy fourth anniversary, America. June 2009 marked the official end of the Great Recession - as reckoned by the National Bureau of Economic Research - and the beginning of the current recovery. So, how are we doing?
Heritage Foundation | Social Security Trust Fund Reports Massive Deficits, Benefit Cuts by 2033
Social Security ran a $55 billion deficit in 2012, closing out three years of consecutive cash-flow deficits as the program’s unfunded obligations continue to grow

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Global economy balanced on a pinhead
Japan and the United States are using asset bubbles to revive their economies. They are struggling to manage the speed of bubble expansion or contraction. This dancing on a pinhead brings big uncertainty to the global economy. When they fail, a global recession may follow.
CATO | Five Reasons to Repeal Farm Subsidies
Cato held a packed forum on Capitol Hill yesterday examining major farm legislation that is moving through Congress. Our panelists included Andrew Moylan of R Street, Josh Sewell of Taxpayers for Common Sense, and Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Slower health spending helps buy Medicare 2 more years
Slower health care spending has helped buy Medicare more time before it will no longer be able to pay out 100% of benefits. But the program is still facing significant funding shortfalls.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Fed’s Williams Says Sees Potential QE Taper This ‘Summer’
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said policy makers may start reducing the pace of bond purchases over the next three months and potentially end quantitative easing by year-end.
Bloomberg | If Not Geithner, Who Will Replace Bernanke? 
Prominent people in Washington and on Wall Street say President Barack Obama is starting to focus on what may be the most important appointment of his second term: the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Washington Post | Why there’s a trust deficit
Now Volcker has launched a new crusade: reversing the erosion of public trust in government. He’s creating an institute to propose practical solutions to problems faced by governments at all levels. For all my admiration of Volcker, this seems a bridge too far.
WSJ | With All Eyes on Fed, Prices Barely Rise
Inflation is slowing in the U.S. and elsewhere, despite central banks' historic easy-money programs that some have argued could push prices much higher.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Feds close to picking ‘risky’ non-banks
Prudential, American International Group Inc. and GE Financial, a unit of General Electric—  and possibly others — are widely expected to be designated “systemically important” by federal regulators Monday, a situation that will subject them to gradually increasing capital levels, lower leverage limits and greater liquidity.

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | The 4 worst tax breaks
If you live in California, you'll probably hate this story. So will anyone who gets health benefits at work or stands to inherit stocks. And if you're one of those guys who manages billions of dollars? Let's just say you'll be less than delighted.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Washington Times | Our uncompetitive economy
When the time comes to pay the tax man, corporate executives realize the United States is the single worst country in the civilized world to do business. That’s a rather stunning development for a country that was founded on the principles of free enterprise.
NY Post | The most feared man on Wall St.
He’s become Wall Street’s Public Enemy No. 1 — Dave Camp, a Republican Congressman from Michigan and chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee.
WSJ | The Transaction-Tax Climbdown
European governments are figuring out that taxing financial transactions won't be a magical money machine and that the proposed levy might even damage the European economy.

Employment

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ | Do Rising Homeownership Rates Lead to Higher Joblessness?
Rising homeownership rates foreshadow sharp rises in unemployment, according to a recent study, a potentially worrying finding for policy makers who consider owning a home a key to the American dream.

Budget

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Student loan mess: What's at stake?
On July 1, the interest rates on student loans subsidized by Uncle Sam will most likely double to 6.8%.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Fortune | Has Europe given up?
By saying it's officially OK to skirt debt ceilings, Europe is abandoning austerity and reigniting the risk of another sovereign debt crisis.
WSJ | Deficit Deal Even Less Likely
Shrinking near-term federal deficits, slowing health-care cost increases and partisan gridlock have all but wiped out the likelihood for a deal this year to reduce long-term U.S. deficits, perhaps delaying a compromise until after the 2014 midterm elections, White House officials and congressional lawmakers said.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Library of Economics | California's Phony Budget Surplus
My personal finances are doing great. I have a "surplus." I saved $1,000 last month after paying all my expenses. Well, not all my expenses. I didn't pay my $1,500 monthly mortgage. But, hey, don't be picky.