News
CNN Money | Why Obama won't bail out Detroit
Four years ago, the Obama administration rode to the rescue of two Detroit automakers, pouring $80 billion into General Motors and Chrysler Group to see them through their bankruptcies.
Market Watch | National activity index less negative in June
The U.S. economy improved slightly in June, as the national activity index rose to negative 0.13 from negative 0.29 in May, according to the Chicago Fed.
WSJ | U.S. Growth Outlook Stuck in Neutral
Disappointing economic and corporate-earnings reports in recent weeks have dashed hopes that the U.S. was at last entering a phase of solid, self-sustaining growth. Instead, while economists expect a modest second-half pickup in growth, few are predicting the kind of substantial rebound needed to quickly bring down unemployment, raise wages and insulate the U.S. from economic threats abroad.
Businessweek | The Rise of the Intangible Economy: U.S. GDP Counts R&D, Artistic Creation
On July 31, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will rewrite history on a grand scale by restating the size and composition of the gross domestic product, all the way back to the first year it was recorded, 1929. The biggest change will be the reclassification—nay, the elevation—of research and development.
Market Watch | Existing-home sales fall 1.2% in June
The National Association of Realtors said June existing-home sales on a seasonally adjusted basis fell 1.2% to an annual rate of 5.08 million -- the second-highest rate since November 2009 -- from a downwardly revised 5.14 million.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Policies of Obama and Bernanke Lead To An Uneven Recovery
President Obama has often made statements in support of income and wealth redistribution. He claims to believe that the country would be better off if we took money away from the rich and gave it to the poor. Many of his policies seem designed to accomplish this. Yet, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, he has failed in reaching his goal.
Washington Times | The war on coal
We’ve had the war on inflation. The war on waste. The war on terror. There’s even a war on women somewhere, though nobody has actually seen it. Now the World Bank is enlisting in the war on coal, following the White House in opposing the digging of affordable energy out of the earth. This is bad news for developing nations desperate for the cheap energy they need to climb out of poverty.
Washington Post | Americans are defining prosperity down
If proverbial Martians descended on Earth and toured America’s crowded shopping malls, traveled its congested highways and sampled its technological marvels — from the many cable channels to ubiquitous smartphones — these visitors would be hard-pressed to describe the United States as poor or its economy as failing.
Real Clear Markets | Wells Fargo Securities: Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary
This week most of the economic data pointed to a soft patch in economic growth in the second quarter. Retail sales ticked higher in June but less than many analysts expected, while consumer inflation rose more than expected for the month. Housing starts data also pointed toward a downshift in the pace of new construction and permitting activity, likely due to temporary factors.
Market Watch | Why there’s no housing bubble...yet
As home prices rise, so are concerns that a new housing-market bubble may be appearing, particularly in cities with double-digit annual growth rates.
AEI | Remake Detroit, or empty it
If Detroit were its own city-state — a bizarro version of prosperous Singapore — it would be a place the U.S. State Department would regularly issue travel warnings about, where “long-term, protracted conditions make a country dangerous or unstable.” Detroit’s murder rate, for instance, would be higher than that of all but a handful of other countries.
CATO | High Frequency Trading: Do Regulators Need to Control this Tool of Informationally Efficient Markets?
High Frequency Trading (HFT) is a form of algorithmic trading where firms use high-speed market data and analytics to look for short term supply and demand trading opportunities that often are the product of predictable behavioral or mechanical characteristics of financial markets. Often called "equity market making," HFT firms usually hold their positions for less than a minute while perpetually looking for opportunities to buy and sell. These transactions happen thousands of times a day, take microseconds, and often net less than a penny in profit per share traded.
Blogs
WSJ | Housing Dominates This Week’s Data
Sales of existing homes will be reported on Monday of the trading week ending July 26. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect resales increased 1.9% to an annual rate of 5.28 million in June. The rise is suggested by past increases in the pending home-sales index that tracks contracts signed but not yet closed to buy an existing home.
WSJ | Investors Struggle With Cash Conundrum
Teams of respected investment pros are scouring the world for stocks and bonds they can buy on the cheap, and coming up empty. They are left holding some cash, telling their investors and shareholders they prefer to dilute their returns now rather than risk losing a lot by buying near the top.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Health Care
News
Washington Times | Obama’s health care law shifts big unions’ political alliances to GOP
Discord over President Obama’s health care law is forging strange alliances, with top Republicans reaching out to union bosses who helped Democrats muscle the legislation through Congress three years ago but now say the reforms will “destroy the very health and well-being of our members.”
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | A CEO's-Eye View of ObamaCare
Why did the Obama administration earlier this month delay enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate until 2015? The administration claims that it needed more time to get the mandate right. Some have suggested that politics—the concern that negative effects of the mandate might kick in before midterm elections in 2014—may have influenced the decision.
NBER | The Effect of Medicaid Payment Rates on Access to Dental Care Among Children
Historically, low Medicaid reimbursement rates have limited the willingness of health care providers to accept Medicaid patients, leading to access problems in many communities. This problem has been especially acute in the case of dental care.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | This Just In: Obamacare Distorts Markets
A working paper recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) evaluated the effect of a large disenrollment in the Medicaid population in Tennessee. The results of this paper are not unexpected: People who value health care will find a way to obtain it.
Washington Times | Obama’s health care law shifts big unions’ political alliances to GOP
Discord over President Obama’s health care law is forging strange alliances, with top Republicans reaching out to union bosses who helped Democrats muscle the legislation through Congress three years ago but now say the reforms will “destroy the very health and well-being of our members.”
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | A CEO's-Eye View of ObamaCare
Why did the Obama administration earlier this month delay enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate until 2015? The administration claims that it needed more time to get the mandate right. Some have suggested that politics—the concern that negative effects of the mandate might kick in before midterm elections in 2014—may have influenced the decision.
NBER | The Effect of Medicaid Payment Rates on Access to Dental Care Among Children
Historically, low Medicaid reimbursement rates have limited the willingness of health care providers to accept Medicaid patients, leading to access problems in many communities. This problem has been especially acute in the case of dental care.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | This Just In: Obamacare Distorts Markets
A working paper recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) evaluated the effect of a large disenrollment in the Medicaid population in Tennessee. The results of this paper are not unexpected: People who value health care will find a way to obtain it.
Monetary
News
CNN Money | Be set when the Fed's help ends
Wall Street always watches the Federal Reserve closely. Lately, however, it has trouble paying attention to anything else.
MSN Money | Bunk from central bankers
I have not really delved in depth into the subject of the Federal Reserve for some time, but this week I decided to revisit some of my history books on the 1920s and ‘30s. Once again, I was struck by the length of time it took for the Fed's inappropriate policies to wreak havoc, the damage done, and, in between, how wonderful everyone thought everything was.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Mercatus | Did Deregulation Cause the Financial Crisis? Examining a Common Justification for Dodd-Frank
Three years ago the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law. Deregulation of the financial services sector in the years leading up to the 2008 crisis was—and still is—used to justify Dodd-Frank’s substantial regulatory burdens. But financial regulation did not decrease in the decade leading up to the financial crisis—it increased.
Mercatus | Dodd-Frank at Three: Time to Reform the Financial Reform Act
With eager anticipation of its salutary effects on an ailing American financial system, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law on 21 July 2010. Now, three years later – and still suffering the throes of implementation – it appears that Dodd-Frank is not the great elixir that proponents claimed it would be.
Heritage Foundation | Dodd–Frank at Year Three: Onerous and Costly
This Sunday, July 21, will mark the third anniversary of Dodd–Frank, Washington’s massive regulatory response to the housing market collapse, the failure of major financial firms, and the resulting shock to the economy in 2008.
CNN Money | Be set when the Fed's help ends
Wall Street always watches the Federal Reserve closely. Lately, however, it has trouble paying attention to anything else.
MSN Money | Bunk from central bankers
I have not really delved in depth into the subject of the Federal Reserve for some time, but this week I decided to revisit some of my history books on the 1920s and ‘30s. Once again, I was struck by the length of time it took for the Fed's inappropriate policies to wreak havoc, the damage done, and, in between, how wonderful everyone thought everything was.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Mercatus | Did Deregulation Cause the Financial Crisis? Examining a Common Justification for Dodd-Frank
Three years ago the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law. Deregulation of the financial services sector in the years leading up to the 2008 crisis was—and still is—used to justify Dodd-Frank’s substantial regulatory burdens. But financial regulation did not decrease in the decade leading up to the financial crisis—it increased.
Mercatus | Dodd-Frank at Three: Time to Reform the Financial Reform Act
With eager anticipation of its salutary effects on an ailing American financial system, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law on 21 July 2010. Now, three years later – and still suffering the throes of implementation – it appears that Dodd-Frank is not the great elixir that proponents claimed it would be.
Heritage Foundation | Dodd–Frank at Year Three: Onerous and Costly
This Sunday, July 21, will mark the third anniversary of Dodd–Frank, Washington’s massive regulatory response to the housing market collapse, the failure of major financial firms, and the resulting shock to the economy in 2008.
Taxes
News
CNN Money | Tax breaks: Washington budget voodoo hides true cost
It's unlikely that anyone would ever describe a 30-year marriage, a 30-year career or a 30-year anything as "temporary."
WSJ | Companies Square Off in Tax-Rewrite Battle
The stakes are particularly high for multinational companies because the White House and Congress are considering changes that would dramatically alter the way foreign income is treated.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | ‘Blank slate’ key to tax reform
In the quarter century since Congress last reformed the Tax Code, back in 1986, it seems Washington has worked overtime to create the most inefficient and ineffective globally anti-competitive tax system humankind could dream up.
Fortune | The tax break that corporate America wants kept secret
Oracle, Google, and Amazon are just a few of the hundreds of large companies that have cut confidential deals with the IRS to help lower their tax bills, and critics want the agency to disclose the details of these complex pacts.
NY Times | Wealth Taxes: A Future Battleground
If you’d like to know where American political debates are headed, the data suggest a simple answer. The next major struggle — in economic terms at least — will be over whether taxes on personal wealth should rise — and by how much.
CNN Money | Tax breaks: Washington budget voodoo hides true cost
It's unlikely that anyone would ever describe a 30-year marriage, a 30-year career or a 30-year anything as "temporary."
WSJ | Companies Square Off in Tax-Rewrite Battle
The stakes are particularly high for multinational companies because the White House and Congress are considering changes that would dramatically alter the way foreign income is treated.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | ‘Blank slate’ key to tax reform
In the quarter century since Congress last reformed the Tax Code, back in 1986, it seems Washington has worked overtime to create the most inefficient and ineffective globally anti-competitive tax system humankind could dream up.
Fortune | The tax break that corporate America wants kept secret
Oracle, Google, and Amazon are just a few of the hundreds of large companies that have cut confidential deals with the IRS to help lower their tax bills, and critics want the agency to disclose the details of these complex pacts.
NY Times | Wealth Taxes: A Future Battleground
If you’d like to know where American political debates are headed, the data suggest a simple answer. The next major struggle — in economic terms at least — will be over whether taxes on personal wealth should rise — and by how much.
Employment
News
FOX News | Survey: US companies to step up hiring as outlook for economic growth improves
Companies are increasingly confident the economy will grow at a modest pace over the next year and are hiring more, according to a survey of business economists.
FOX News | Survey: US companies to step up hiring as outlook for economic growth improves
Companies are increasingly confident the economy will grow at a modest pace over the next year and are hiring more, according to a survey of business economists.
Budget
News
National Journal | Senate Democrats Are Arming—Rhetorically—for a Budget Fight
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid strolls from the Mansfield Room in the Capitol to the Ohio Clock Corridor to address reporters and cameras, he's usually flanked by a handful of colleagues. The Democrats walking with him are often an indication of the message Reid wants to convey.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | After Detroit, Who's Next?
Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has outraged unions and investors by seeking to subordinate the city's debts to the welfare of its residents via bankruptcy. But what probably disturbs the creditors even more is that his plan could set a precedent for other municipalities that are going broke.
Washington Times | Washington’s approaching fiscal hurricane
The sixth factor is 2014’s midterm election — just a year away when the next fiscal debate gets serious. Last time, the nearest election was behind them. Now, a quickly approaching election will heavily influence the debate.
Politico | 2014 budget process: Worst is yet to come
The 2014 budget and appropriations process has been described as a “slow-motion train wreck,” but this is far too generous. For a collision to occur, locomotives must actually meet.
WSJ | A New Twist in Argentina's Bid to Dodge Its Debts
The long-running drama of Argentina's attempts to dodge its creditors has taken a weird turn. On Wednesday, it was widely reported that the International Monetary Fund may file a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court—backing the South American country against its lenders.
National Journal | Senate Democrats Are Arming—Rhetorically—for a Budget Fight
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid strolls from the Mansfield Room in the Capitol to the Ohio Clock Corridor to address reporters and cameras, he's usually flanked by a handful of colleagues. The Democrats walking with him are often an indication of the message Reid wants to convey.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | After Detroit, Who's Next?
Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has outraged unions and investors by seeking to subordinate the city's debts to the welfare of its residents via bankruptcy. But what probably disturbs the creditors even more is that his plan could set a precedent for other municipalities that are going broke.
Washington Times | Washington’s approaching fiscal hurricane
The sixth factor is 2014’s midterm election — just a year away when the next fiscal debate gets serious. Last time, the nearest election was behind them. Now, a quickly approaching election will heavily influence the debate.
Politico | 2014 budget process: Worst is yet to come
The 2014 budget and appropriations process has been described as a “slow-motion train wreck,” but this is far too generous. For a collision to occur, locomotives must actually meet.
WSJ | A New Twist in Argentina's Bid to Dodge Its Debts
The long-running drama of Argentina's attempts to dodge its creditors has taken a weird turn. On Wednesday, it was widely reported that the International Monetary Fund may file a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court—backing the South American country against its lenders.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)