News
CNN Money | Rich people are getting mortgages cheaper than you
Rich homebuyers can now get mortgages cheaper than pretty much everyone else.
Market Watch | Oct. NFIB small-business optimism index drops
Small-business optimism dropped in October after the government shutdown, a trade group said Tuesday.
Politico | Will President Obama slash ethanol mandate?
The Obama administration may be about to hand the oil industry a major victory by reducing the federal requirement for blending ethanol into fuel — a decision with big implications for farm-state politics, food prices and the nation’s energy markets.
CNN Money | Gas under $3 - coming to a station near you
It's becoming easier and easier to find gas for less than $3 a gallon.
WSJ | OECD Indicators Point to Pickup in China, Euro Zone, U.K.
Economic growth is set to pick up in the euro zone, China and the U.K., while remaining sluggish in India, Brazil and Russia, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fortune | The downside of cheaper gas
U.S. gas prices are declining, falling below $3 a gallon across a handful of states. Not surprisingly, most are taking the drop as goods news, since less money spent at the pump leaves more money to spend elsewhere. That's one way to look at it, but often when gas prices drop steadily, that also reflects weaknesses in the economy.
Fortune | The Wall Street Code
"It's really a circus," says Haim Bodek, before he launches into an elaborate metaphor about Metallica ticket scalpers to describe how high-frequency trading (HFT) computers get their hooks into big pension fund investments (the "dumb money" in Wall Street parlance) before anybody else can.
USA Today | Waiting for 10% correction? Don't hold your breath
Stocks are soaring, as are calls for a market correction, or drop of 10%. But even though its been 530 trading days since the last double-digit drop, the correction-less run can continue.
WSJ | California's Green Reality Check
Governor Jerry Brown ought to be canonized as the patron saint of hopeless environmental causes. Consider a new U.S. Department of Energy study that finds that California will fall far short of its 2050 emissions goal even under the most ambitious (i.e., unrealistic) policies.
Breitbart | Record: Over 47 Million on Food Stamps for Entire Year
Food stamp enrollments have remained over 47 million for an unprecedented 13 consecutive months.
CATO | The Truth about the 1 Percent
Every year, new estimates of the incomes of the “top 1 percent” are reported with the requisite fanfare from Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics and Emmanuel Saez of the University of California, Berkeley. And every year the press gets the numbers all wrong.
Blogs
Market Watch | Mortgage-credit availability rises for first time in three months
The availability of mortgage credit ticked up in October, the first gain in three months, as minimum credit scores for certain products declined, according to a gauge released Tuesday by an industry group.
WSJ | Major U.S. Cities Still Not Recovered From Crisis
Thirty major U.S. cities face a tough and uncertain road to recovery, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Health Care
News
Politico | Early reports show Obamacare enrollment low
About 40,000 to 50,000 people have enrolled in private health care plans using HealthCare.gov — a range far short of White House hopes, according to new numbers reported by the Wall Street Journal Monday.
National Journal | Some State Insurance Exchanges Suffer Their Own Tech Troubles
The Health and Human Services Department has come under fire for the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, but in some states, the trouble with Obamacare sign-ups is worse.
Reuters | State Obamacare exchanges enroll 3 pct of target so far -report
President Barack Obama's healthcare reform has reached only about 3 percent of its enrollment target for 2014 in 12 U.S. states where new online health insurance marketplaces are mostly working smoothly, a report released on Monday said.
Mercatus | Another Way Taxpayers Lose Under the Affordable Care Act
State insurance commissioners have long seen themselves as protectors of the public's wallets – the officials who say "no" to insurers' requests to increase health insurance premiums. It has not yet sunk in that on this coming New Year's Day, the Affordable Care Act will flip the commissioners' motives upside-down, prompting them to approve and even encourage premium increases.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | Viable fix for individual market may be non-starter
It’s not so easy to repair the White House’s broken promise that millions of consumers would be able to keep their insurance coverage under Obamacare, according to several health and insurance industry experts.
Politico | Early reports show Obamacare enrollment low
About 40,000 to 50,000 people have enrolled in private health care plans using HealthCare.gov — a range far short of White House hopes, according to new numbers reported by the Wall Street Journal Monday.
National Journal | Some State Insurance Exchanges Suffer Their Own Tech Troubles
The Health and Human Services Department has come under fire for the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, but in some states, the trouble with Obamacare sign-ups is worse.
Reuters | State Obamacare exchanges enroll 3 pct of target so far -report
President Barack Obama's healthcare reform has reached only about 3 percent of its enrollment target for 2014 in 12 U.S. states where new online health insurance marketplaces are mostly working smoothly, a report released on Monday said.
Mercatus | Another Way Taxpayers Lose Under the Affordable Care Act
State insurance commissioners have long seen themselves as protectors of the public's wallets – the officials who say "no" to insurers' requests to increase health insurance premiums. It has not yet sunk in that on this coming New Year's Day, the Affordable Care Act will flip the commissioners' motives upside-down, prompting them to approve and even encourage premium increases.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | Viable fix for individual market may be non-starter
It’s not so easy to repair the White House’s broken promise that millions of consumers would be able to keep their insurance coverage under Obamacare, according to several health and insurance industry experts.
Monetary
News
CNN Money | Fresh ink brings new type of currency war
Surprise! Those bills stuffed in your wallet may not have been printed by your government, or even in your country.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Market Watch | Fed's Fisher says easing to reach its limit
Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher on Tuesday urged the markets to prepare for the tapering of the Fed's quantitative-easing stimulus, though repeating that overall policy would remain loose for some time to come.
WSJ | Confessions of a Quantitative Easer
I can only say: I'm sorry, America. As a former Federal Reserve official, I was responsible for executing the centerpiece program of the Fed's first plunge into the bond-buying experiment known as quantitative easing. The central bank continues to spin QE as a tool for helping Main Street. But I've come to recognize the program for what it really is: the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time.
NBER | Is The Phillips Curve Alive and Well After All? Inflation Expectations and the Missing Disinflation
We evaluate possible explanations for the absence of a persistent decline in inflation during the Great Recession and find commonly suggested explanations to be insufficient. We propose a new explanation for this puzzle within the context of a standard Phillips curve.
CATO | Low Inflation Is Not an Enemy of Prosperity
The notion that inflation is “dangerously low” is gaining ground. Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff holds that “a sustained burst of moderate inflation is not something to worry about,” given the slow pace of recovery. With core inflation well below the Fed’s target of 2%, Rogoff would like to see the target temporarily lifted to 6%.
Blogs
Economist | Before the panic
Last week the IMF hosted a research conference in honour of Stanley Fischer, which generated a heaping portion of fascinating monetary-policy discussion (some of which we discuss in this week's paper).
WSJ | Three Things the ECB Should Do Beyond Cutting Rates
The European Central Bank needs to do much more beyond interest-rate cuts to ensure that excessively low inflation doesn’t keep the euro zone locked in economic stagnation far into the future.
CNN Money | Fresh ink brings new type of currency war
Surprise! Those bills stuffed in your wallet may not have been printed by your government, or even in your country.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Market Watch | Fed's Fisher says easing to reach its limit
Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher on Tuesday urged the markets to prepare for the tapering of the Fed's quantitative-easing stimulus, though repeating that overall policy would remain loose for some time to come.
WSJ | Confessions of a Quantitative Easer
I can only say: I'm sorry, America. As a former Federal Reserve official, I was responsible for executing the centerpiece program of the Fed's first plunge into the bond-buying experiment known as quantitative easing. The central bank continues to spin QE as a tool for helping Main Street. But I've come to recognize the program for what it really is: the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time.
NBER | Is The Phillips Curve Alive and Well After All? Inflation Expectations and the Missing Disinflation
We evaluate possible explanations for the absence of a persistent decline in inflation during the Great Recession and find commonly suggested explanations to be insufficient. We propose a new explanation for this puzzle within the context of a standard Phillips curve.
CATO | Low Inflation Is Not an Enemy of Prosperity
The notion that inflation is “dangerously low” is gaining ground. Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff holds that “a sustained burst of moderate inflation is not something to worry about,” given the slow pace of recovery. With core inflation well below the Fed’s target of 2%, Rogoff would like to see the target temporarily lifted to 6%.
Blogs
Economist | Before the panic
Last week the IMF hosted a research conference in honour of Stanley Fischer, which generated a heaping portion of fascinating monetary-policy discussion (some of which we discuss in this week's paper).
WSJ | Three Things the ECB Should Do Beyond Cutting Rates
The European Central Bank needs to do much more beyond interest-rate cuts to ensure that excessively low inflation doesn’t keep the euro zone locked in economic stagnation far into the future.
Taxes
Blogs
Library of Economics | Mike Lee's Anti-Supply-Side Tax Cut
Arguably, one of the biggest accomplishments of supply-side economist Art Laffer in the late 1970s and early 1980s was to get mainstream economists to take marginal tax rates seriously.
Library of Economics | Mike Lee's Anti-Supply-Side Tax Cut
Arguably, one of the biggest accomplishments of supply-side economist Art Laffer in the late 1970s and early 1980s was to get mainstream economists to take marginal tax rates seriously.
Employment
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | The misery of the minimum wage
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and the Obama administration proposed raising it to $10.10 per hour last Thursday. Last week, the voters in New Jersey passed a $8.25 per hour minimum wage, and the voters in the town of SeaTac, Wash., passed a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Blogs
WSJ | Job Gap Widens in Uneven Recovery
America's jobs recovery is proceeding on two separate tracks—a pattern that is persisting far longer than after past economic rebounds and lately has been growing worse.
WSJ | Recent Veterans Struggle With Unemployment
Americans who have served in the military generally have lower rates of unemployment than those who haven’t, but veterans of the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are struggling most.
Washington Times | The misery of the minimum wage
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and the Obama administration proposed raising it to $10.10 per hour last Thursday. Last week, the voters in New Jersey passed a $8.25 per hour minimum wage, and the voters in the town of SeaTac, Wash., passed a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Blogs
WSJ | Job Gap Widens in Uneven Recovery
America's jobs recovery is proceeding on two separate tracks—a pattern that is persisting far longer than after past economic rebounds and lately has been growing worse.
WSJ | Recent Veterans Struggle With Unemployment
Americans who have served in the military generally have lower rates of unemployment than those who haven’t, but veterans of the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are struggling most.
Budget
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Post | Slowing the growth of U.S. debt
The recently established House-Senate budget negotiating committee presents the opportunity to solve two major national problems: preventing the future explosion of the national debt and increasing current growth and employment.
WSJ | The Biggest Fiscal Losers
Don't blink, but the U.S. is making some short-term fiscal progress. The main reasons are good (the budget caps and sequester) and bad (the January tax increase), but in any event the final budget numbers for fiscal 2013 are instructive.
Blogs
Library of Economics | Did the Federal Spending Cuts Slow Growth
If you look at macroeconomic policy since last fall, there have been two big moves. The Federal Reserve has committed to much bolder action in adopting the Evans Rule and QE3. At the same time, the country has entered a period of fiscal austerity. Was the Fed action enough to offset the contraction?
Washington Post | Slowing the growth of U.S. debt
The recently established House-Senate budget negotiating committee presents the opportunity to solve two major national problems: preventing the future explosion of the national debt and increasing current growth and employment.
WSJ | The Biggest Fiscal Losers
Don't blink, but the U.S. is making some short-term fiscal progress. The main reasons are good (the budget caps and sequester) and bad (the January tax increase), but in any event the final budget numbers for fiscal 2013 are instructive.
Blogs
Library of Economics | Did the Federal Spending Cuts Slow Growth
If you look at macroeconomic policy since last fall, there have been two big moves. The Federal Reserve has committed to much bolder action in adopting the Evans Rule and QE3. At the same time, the country has entered a period of fiscal austerity. Was the Fed action enough to offset the contraction?
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