News
CNN Money | Goldman Sachs posts big revenue drop
Investors didn't care that Goldman Sachs boosted its dividend and reported a better-than-expected profit. They simply looked at the bank's rapidly falling revenues in the third quarter and got nervous.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | Restarting U.S. Government Seen as Harder Than Shutdown
The legislation passed by Congress last night to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government into 2014 will bring hundreds of thousands of federal workers back to their jobs and reopen national parks and museums. Yet it may be weeks or even months before the government resumes issuing loans, payments and contracts at a normal pace.
The Nation | Even When the GOP Loses, It Wins
Just hours before a default on our national debt and sixteen days into a wrenching federal government shutdown, it now appears that the barest measure of sanity has prevailed in Washington. The Senate has reached a deal to reopen the government at current funding levels through January 15 and to pass a debt ceiling hike though February 7. The measure is expected to clear the House tonight with scant but necessary Republican support.
WSJ | AARP's Fuzzy Math on Social Security
AARP—formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons—recently released a report proclaiming that "Social Security Generates Nearly $1.4 Trillion in Economic Activity and Supports More Than Nine Million Jobs." As great as that sounds, AARP's study is fundamentally flawed.
Real Clear Markets | 'Regime Uncertainty' And Its Impact On Economic Growth
Since the financial collapse of 2008, economic policymakers have struggled to revive the economy. In the United States, the centerpiece of the Obama administration's fiscal policy was a massive stimulus program that pumped $787 billion into the American economy.
Mercatus | A Shutdown Silver Lining: Fewer Regulations
The government shutdown may choke the flow of federal regulations, but looking at some of the rules on the books, this might not be a bad thing. While there are regulations that provide great benefits to people, more than a few do not. To the contrary, they waste resources by duplicating market efforts or needlessly restricting market activity in order to deliver targeted benefits to special interests.
CATO | SNAP Failure: The Food Stamp Program Needs Reform
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the food assistance program formerly known as food stamps, has become America’s fastest growing social welfare program. As recently as 2000, just 17 million Americans participated in the program at a cost of less than $18 billion.
Blogs
WSJ | Tallying the Economic Toll of the Shutdown and Default Threat
The worst-case scenario in the latest budget brawl — a catastrophic debt default — was averted. But nobody should be celebrating. The economic toll of the past three weeks will likely take months or years to assess completely. Here’s what we know right now.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Health Care
News
Politico | ACA backers OK with income verification in debt deal
Republicans are getting a single Obamacare crumb in the spending deal — an income verification measure that Democratic proponents of the law are willing to swallow.
National Journal | The Case for Computer-Based Health Care
The victory of Watson, an artificial-intelligence system designed to dominate the quiz show Jeopardy!, over the country's best nerds in 2011 may not be the equal of John Henry struggling against a steam-powered drill in the annals of man versus machine. But the replacement of Jeopardy!'s human competitors with a computer algorithm may signal a trend that could soon spread through the health care sector as Obamacare is implemented.
WSJ | UnitedHealth Profit Rises as Enrollment Increases
UnitedHealth is the biggest managed-care company by revenue and the industry's first to report quarterly results, making its view of health-cost trends and patient traffic an important barometer. Membership growth has helped recent results.
Politico | ACA backers OK with income verification in debt deal
Republicans are getting a single Obamacare crumb in the spending deal — an income verification measure that Democratic proponents of the law are willing to swallow.
National Journal | The Case for Computer-Based Health Care
The victory of Watson, an artificial-intelligence system designed to dominate the quiz show Jeopardy!, over the country's best nerds in 2011 may not be the equal of John Henry struggling against a steam-powered drill in the annals of man versus machine. But the replacement of Jeopardy!'s human competitors with a computer algorithm may signal a trend that could soon spread through the health care sector as Obamacare is implemented.
WSJ | UnitedHealth Profit Rises as Enrollment Increases
UnitedHealth is the biggest managed-care company by revenue and the industry's first to report quarterly results, making its view of health-cost trends and patient traffic an important barometer. Membership growth has helped recent results.
Monetary
News
CNBC | Debt deal done, but dollar's demise deep-rooted
U.S. politicians may have side-stepped a debt default at the 11th eleventh hour on Wednesday, but currency analysts have told CNBC that the dollar's status as a reserve currency will suffer long-term damage from the impasse.
Econ Comments & Analysis
FOX Business | Fisher: Fed Can't Act Effectively Unless D.C. Gets 'Act Together'
The U.S. Federal Reserve cannot effectively fight high unemployment unless Congress and President Barack Obama "get their act together" and fix the nation's fiscal problems, a top Fed official said on Thursday.
Blogs
FOX News | Don't expect magic from Janet Yellen at the Federal Reserve
What will Janet Yellen, the nominated chairman of the Federal Reserve, do to fix the economy?
WSJ | How to Deal With ‘Too Big to Fail’
Many Americans think the nation’s largest banks are “too big to fail” and should be smaller. But there’s arguably a more pragmatic way to make banks safer for the economy: Force them to significantly enlarge their capital buffers—and add to these in good times.
CNBC | Debt deal done, but dollar's demise deep-rooted
U.S. politicians may have side-stepped a debt default at the 11th eleventh hour on Wednesday, but currency analysts have told CNBC that the dollar's status as a reserve currency will suffer long-term damage from the impasse.
Econ Comments & Analysis
FOX Business | Fisher: Fed Can't Act Effectively Unless D.C. Gets 'Act Together'
The U.S. Federal Reserve cannot effectively fight high unemployment unless Congress and President Barack Obama "get their act together" and fix the nation's fiscal problems, a top Fed official said on Thursday.
Blogs
FOX News | Don't expect magic from Janet Yellen at the Federal Reserve
What will Janet Yellen, the nominated chairman of the Federal Reserve, do to fix the economy?
WSJ | How to Deal With ‘Too Big to Fail’
Many Americans think the nation’s largest banks are “too big to fail” and should be smaller. But there’s arguably a more pragmatic way to make banks safer for the economy: Force them to significantly enlarge their capital buffers—and add to these in good times.
Taxes
Blogs
WSJ | Ireland Targets Tax Move
Ireland, which has come under fire for allowing companies to use the nation as a lever to minimize taxes, is planning to change rules that allow businesses to become “stateless” tax purposes.
CATO | Wise Words on Fiscal Sovereignty and Corporate Taxation (sort of) from Bill Clinton
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Bill Clinton. In part, that’s because economic freedom increased and the burden of government spending was reduced during his time in office.
WSJ | Secondary Sources: Taxes, Loan Performance, Recovery by State
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
WSJ | Ireland Targets Tax Move
Ireland, which has come under fire for allowing companies to use the nation as a lever to minimize taxes, is planning to change rules that allow businesses to become “stateless” tax purposes.
CATO | Wise Words on Fiscal Sovereignty and Corporate Taxation (sort of) from Bill Clinton
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Bill Clinton. In part, that’s because economic freedom increased and the burden of government spending was reduced during his time in office.
WSJ | Secondary Sources: Taxes, Loan Performance, Recovery by State
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
Employment
News
FOX Business | Weekly Jobless Claims Fall from Six-Month High
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped from a six-month high last week, but remained elevated as California continued to deal with a backlog related to computer problems.
CNN Money | Federal workers back on the job
With the 2013 government shutdown ended, President Obama has ordered all federal workers to get back to work Thursday.
Blogs
WSJ | Fifty-Fold Increase in Jobless Claims By Federal Workers During Shutdown
More than 70,000 federal workers who were furloughed as a result of the partial government shutdown filed for unemployment insurance for the week ended Oct. 5, the Labor Department said Thursday.
FOX Business | Weekly Jobless Claims Fall from Six-Month High
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped from a six-month high last week, but remained elevated as California continued to deal with a backlog related to computer problems.
CNN Money | Federal workers back on the job
With the 2013 government shutdown ended, President Obama has ordered all federal workers to get back to work Thursday.
Blogs
WSJ | Fifty-Fold Increase in Jobless Claims By Federal Workers During Shutdown
More than 70,000 federal workers who were furloughed as a result of the partial government shutdown filed for unemployment insurance for the week ended Oct. 5, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Budget
News
National Journal | The Next Budget Crisis Is Only 90 Days Away
Before the ink was even dry on the plan to end the government shutdown and avoid busting the nation’s debt limit, there were growing doubts that Congress could avoid another fiscal showdown in only 90 days.
CNN Money | Shutdown took $24 billion bite out of economy
The United States may have dodged an economic catastrophe by raising the debt ceiling and opening the government, but it didn't emerge from the political debacle unscathed.
Bloomberg | Build America Bonds Biggest Loser in Yield-Rise Bet: Muni Credit
The $188 billion market for Build America Bonds is set to trail the rest of municipal debt for the first time as issuers face cuts to their federal subsidies while investors bet interest rates will rise.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Playing around with debt
It is hard to figure out where to start with the perennial debt-ceiling debate. Perhaps we should bite the bullet and start with Barack Obama and Harry Reid in 2006.
Washington Times | A rising torrent of debt and destruction
From April 1917 to November 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson borrowed $30 billion to pay for World War I, he was able to do so because of the promise he made to lenders that the commitment to repay them would be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
Blogs
Economist | Learning to (push against the) cycle
Financial markets are currently pummelling developing countries for their poor economic management. For instance, India has been criticised for its profligate fiscal policy—which left it vulnerable to the market turmoil prompted by the threat of Fed tapering. Brazil's way out of the 2008-09 crisis was ham-fisted at best.
National Journal | The Next Budget Crisis Is Only 90 Days Away
Before the ink was even dry on the plan to end the government shutdown and avoid busting the nation’s debt limit, there were growing doubts that Congress could avoid another fiscal showdown in only 90 days.
CNN Money | Shutdown took $24 billion bite out of economy
The United States may have dodged an economic catastrophe by raising the debt ceiling and opening the government, but it didn't emerge from the political debacle unscathed.
Bloomberg | Build America Bonds Biggest Loser in Yield-Rise Bet: Muni Credit
The $188 billion market for Build America Bonds is set to trail the rest of municipal debt for the first time as issuers face cuts to their federal subsidies while investors bet interest rates will rise.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Playing around with debt
It is hard to figure out where to start with the perennial debt-ceiling debate. Perhaps we should bite the bullet and start with Barack Obama and Harry Reid in 2006.
Washington Times | A rising torrent of debt and destruction
From April 1917 to November 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson borrowed $30 billion to pay for World War I, he was able to do so because of the promise he made to lenders that the commitment to repay them would be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
Blogs
Economist | Learning to (push against the) cycle
Financial markets are currently pummelling developing countries for their poor economic management. For instance, India has been criticised for its profligate fiscal policy—which left it vulnerable to the market turmoil prompted by the threat of Fed tapering. Brazil's way out of the 2008-09 crisis was ham-fisted at best.
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