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Friday, August 9, 2013

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
FOX Business | IHS: Rejecting Keystone Will Have Little to No Impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A new study from IHS, a prominent, independent energy research firm, says that a thumbs down from President Barack Obama on the Keystone Pipeline would have minimal to no impact on U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Bloomberg | Wholesale Inventories in U.S. Unexpectedly Fall for Third Month
Inventories at U.S. wholesalers unexpectedly declined in June for the third month, the longest string in almost four years, as demand grew.
WSJ | Home Prices Rise Steeply in West, Sunbelt
Cities in the West and the Sunbelt, among the hardest hit during the real-estate downturn, continue to lead the nation's housing recovery—posting double-digit gains in home prices that have outpaced even the most optimistic projections from a year ago.
Market Watch | China's industrial output stronger than forecast
China's industrial production grew at the fastest pace since February, rising 9.7% in July from a year earlier, though retail-sales growth slowed slightly, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Politico | House GOP: Welfare reform 2.0 for food stamps
When welfare reform was enacted in August 1996, the economy was growing at an annual rate of 2.8 percent and had added more than 1.67 million new jobs in the first seven months of that year.
Real Clear Markets | Is Government Spending Hindering the Recovery?
Not only is America's economic recovery an outlier, so too is Washington's spending "response." Today's dramatic dual divergence from past economic and fiscal performances reveals a number of important conclusions and raises equally important questions. Chief among the latter: Is the significantly higher federal spending response muting the longer-term economic recovery?
Washington Times | Imaginary optimism
Only in Washington would it take eight months to come up with a production quota for an imaginary product. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is all too real, announced this week the latest renewable-fuel standards, which were due in January. Now the oil companies must produce 6 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol, down from last year’s target of 11 million.

Health Care

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Fiscal Times | Got a Great Health Plan? Get Ready to Kiss It Goodbye
Under Obamacare, the government won’t start taxing employers who offer so-called “Cadillac” health benefits to their workers for another five years, but companies are already starting to cut back on such plans.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Roll Call | Can GOP ‘Replace’ Obamacare? The RSC Has a Plan
House Republicans have held 40 votes to repeal Obamacare, but their promise to come up with legislation to replace it with something else has been far more elusive. That may be about to change.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Currency Volatility at Almost Lowest Since May on Fed
A gauge of currency volatility fell to almost the lowest level in three months as traders weigh whether economic gains will be enough for the Federal Reserve to reduce stimulus measures next month.
Market Watch | Fed's Fisher: Markets may take tapering in stride
Financial markets may take in stride any decision by the Federal Reserve to step back from its asset purchase program, said Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Fed Bank, on Thursday.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Economist | An unfinished revolution
Progress in the practice of monetary policy occurs one disaster at a time. From the depression of the 1930s economists learned that money matters, and that a contraction in the money supply can produce a painful downturn.

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
WSJ | Shifts in Spending Sap Sales-Tax Revenue
California's sales tax has grown steadily in recent decades to 7.5%, the highest in the nation. But changes in consumer spending in recent years mean the tax makes up a shrinking proportion of the state's revenue, according to an analysis published this week by the state Legislative Analyst's Office.
Washington Examiner | IRS agent: Tax agency is still targeting Tea Party groups
In a remarkable admission that is likely to rock the Internal Revenue Service again, testimony released Thursday by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp reveals that an agent involved in reviewing tax exempt applications from conservative groups told a committee investigator that the agency is still targeting Tea Party groups, three months after the IRS scandal erupted.

Employment

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Market Watch | U.S. job growth is better, but is it ‘good?’
What’s a “good” number for how many U.S. jobs are created each month? The answer is not as easy to figure out as it might seem, but one thing is clear: The economy is not adding jobs fast enough.
Washington Times | Facing facts about jobless America
Another weak jobs report came out last week, drawing yawns from Democrats, excuses from the White House and shallow, incomplete reporting from the nightly news shows.
NBER | Untangling Trade and Technology: Evidence from Local Labor Markets
We juxtapose the effects of trade and technology on employment in U.S. local labor markets between 1990 and 2007.

Budget

News                                                                                                                             
WSJ | Michigan's Saginaw County Postpones Debt Sale
Cities and counties across Michigan are struggling to distance themselves from cash-strapped Detroit.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
CBO | Monthly Budget Review for July 2013
The federal government’s budget deficit was slightly more than $600 billion in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2013, CBO estimates, almost $370 billion less than the shortfall recorded for the same period last year.