News
Politico | Farm bill remains challenge
These next two weeks running up to Thanksgiving are pivotal if a farm bill is to be salvaged this year. And this pattern of distorted numbers not only sows confusion but can infect the negotiators themselves.
CNN Money | Eurozone recovery fades as growth stalls
Europe's recovery from 18 months of recession stalled in the third quarter as exports slowed and the region's second-biggest economy slipped back into reverse gear.
Politico | U.S. oil output tops imports for first time since 1995
But the U.S. is far from being completely energy independent even if oil imports are dropping. Analysts note that the country is still affected by swings in oil prices, which are set on world markets.
Fox News | US trade deficit widens 8 percent in September to $41.8 billion, highest in 4 months
The U.S. trade deficit widened in September as imports increased to the highest level in 10 months while exports slipped.
Washington Times | Fewer homes repossessed by lenders in October
Some 37,775 homes nationwide completed the foreclosure process in October, down 1 percent from the previous month and a decline of 29 percent compared with October last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | Statism: Whether Fascist or Communist, It's The Deadly Opposite of Capitalism
Communism advocates the abolition of private property; socialism advocates government ownership of the means of production. Fascism leaves that property in private hands–then shackles those hands, every economic decision being directed by the state. Property rights are non-existent under fascism.
Investors | Economy Is Way Too Complex To Be Planned From D.C.
Suggesting that Congress and the president are ignorant of the fact that knowledge is highly dispersed and decisions made locally produce the best outcomes might be overly generous.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Productivity’s Pitifully Poor Performance
Weak productivity is putting pressure on businesses’ cost structure and profit margins.
Econ Lib | Would Buy-and-Hold Cut Finance Down to Size?
Suppose buy-and-hold investment strategies were near-universal. To be more specific, suppose 90% of all investment dollars were used to robotically purchase the market basket, then hold these assets until retirement. In this scenario, would the finance sector dramatically shrink?
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Health Care
News
Politico | Fateful dates ahead on Obamacare calendar
The Obama administration insists that the poor numbers can be reversed and momentum restored. Here are some key dates on that road to redemption — or further dysfunction.
National Journal | What the Low Obamacare Enrollment Numbers Mean
Roughly 100,000 people enrolled in health insurance through Obamacare last month—far short of the administration’s goal. The much-anticipated statistic was not surprising, but it does help shape a clearer assessment of President Obama’s signature program.
WSJ | Obama Open to Health-Law Change
The White House shift came as more Democrats in Congress, fearful of a voter backlash due to the law, have lost confidence in administration assurances that the problems could be solved without changing the legislation.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | Plosser Says Price Stability Should Be Fed’s Primary Mandate
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser, an opponent of Fed bond purchases, said the central bank should focus on price stability as its primary objective, and not worry as much about “fluctuations” in employment.
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Obamacare slouches into bad taste
The government is looking for the panic button. The Obamacare administrators are desperate for customers, and they’re turning to the squalid and the sordid to sell the government health care scheme nobody wants.
Politico | The Obamacare Lie That Can't Be Fixed
Obama’s promise on insurance wasn’t just injudicious, it was completely impossible.
Politico | Fateful dates ahead on Obamacare calendar
The Obama administration insists that the poor numbers can be reversed and momentum restored. Here are some key dates on that road to redemption — or further dysfunction.
National Journal | What the Low Obamacare Enrollment Numbers Mean
Roughly 100,000 people enrolled in health insurance through Obamacare last month—far short of the administration’s goal. The much-anticipated statistic was not surprising, but it does help shape a clearer assessment of President Obama’s signature program.
WSJ | Obama Open to Health-Law Change
The White House shift came as more Democrats in Congress, fearful of a voter backlash due to the law, have lost confidence in administration assurances that the problems could be solved without changing the legislation.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | Plosser Says Price Stability Should Be Fed’s Primary Mandate
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser, an opponent of Fed bond purchases, said the central bank should focus on price stability as its primary objective, and not worry as much about “fluctuations” in employment.
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Obamacare slouches into bad taste
The government is looking for the panic button. The Obamacare administrators are desperate for customers, and they’re turning to the squalid and the sordid to sell the government health care scheme nobody wants.
Politico | The Obamacare Lie That Can't Be Fixed
Obama’s promise on insurance wasn’t just injudicious, it was completely impossible.
Monetary
Econ Comments & Analysis
New York Post | Is it possible to kill quantitative-easing painlessly?
My real concern isn’t that QE is a failure. The real concern is, How the hell do we kill this monster without hurting millions of people?
RCM | The Fed Itself Is of Greater Significance Than Janet Yellen
Ideally, the ultimate goal is establishing monetary policies conducive to economic growth. This requires discipline to resist the call for easy money from both Wall Street and Washington, a task made tougher by the federal government's burgeoning debt problem.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Clear Markets | Four Key Points From Yellen on Tapering
In her confirmation hearing to be Federal Reserve chairman, Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen makes a few key points on the critical question of tapering.
The Economist | Don't shoot the messenger
In reality, central banks have only transitory control of real rates of return. The task of central bankers is to keep interest rates at the values dictated by market forces.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Easy Money Policy Helps Young, Hurts Old, Study Finds
Younger households, governments and homeowners are among the winners from the ultralow interest-rate policies engineered by the world’s big central banks, according to a new study by McKinsey & Co, which says older, richer households and insurance companies are among the losers.
New York Post | Is it possible to kill quantitative-easing painlessly?
My real concern isn’t that QE is a failure. The real concern is, How the hell do we kill this monster without hurting millions of people?
RCM | The Fed Itself Is of Greater Significance Than Janet Yellen
Ideally, the ultimate goal is establishing monetary policies conducive to economic growth. This requires discipline to resist the call for easy money from both Wall Street and Washington, a task made tougher by the federal government's burgeoning debt problem.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Clear Markets | Four Key Points From Yellen on Tapering
In her confirmation hearing to be Federal Reserve chairman, Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen makes a few key points on the critical question of tapering.
The Economist | Don't shoot the messenger
In reality, central banks have only transitory control of real rates of return. The task of central bankers is to keep interest rates at the values dictated by market forces.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Easy Money Policy Helps Young, Hurts Old, Study Finds
Younger households, governments and homeowners are among the winners from the ultralow interest-rate policies engineered by the world’s big central banks, according to a new study by McKinsey & Co, which says older, richer households and insurance companies are among the losers.
Taxes
News
Politico | Political reality darkens Dave Camp’s tax rewrite outlook
Timing, support and momentum are never guaranteed in Congress, a reality chief Republican tax writer Dave Camp has for the first time started to acknowledge.
Politico | Political reality darkens Dave Camp’s tax rewrite outlook
Timing, support and momentum are never guaranteed in Congress, a reality chief Republican tax writer Dave Camp has for the first time started to acknowledge.
Employment
News
Fox Business | Lockheed Martin to Slice 4,000 Jobs in Response to Defense Cuts
In a statement, it blamed the layoffs on the “continued decline in U.S. government spending,” which was brought on by the sequestration, as well as “the rapidly changing competitive and economic landscape” as the country continues to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.
Bloomberg |
More Americans Than Forecast File Unemployment Claims
Jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington.
Fox Business | Lockheed Martin to Slice 4,000 Jobs in Response to Defense Cuts
In a statement, it blamed the layoffs on the “continued decline in U.S. government spending,” which was brought on by the sequestration, as well as “the rapidly changing competitive and economic landscape” as the country continues to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.
Bloomberg |
More Americans Than Forecast File Unemployment Claims
Jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington.
Budget
News
WSJ | Budget Battle Breeds Dysfunctional Spending
As Negotiators Still Far Apart, Stopgap Measure Keeps Some Policies in Place That Don't Make Sense.
Politico | Scant progress on budget negotiating panel
The second public meeting of a House-Senate budget negotiating committee yielded few signs that lawmakers will be able to resolve deep differences over fiscal policy.
WSJ | U.S. Budget Deficit Narrows in October
The U.S. government's deficit for October totaled $91.59 billion, compared with a $120.00 billion shortfall during the same period a year earlier, the Treasury Department said Wednesday in its monthly report. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast a $95.0 billion deficit.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CBO | Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023
This volume presents 103 options that would decrease federal spending or increase federal revenues over the next decade. Those options cover many areas—ranging from defense to energy, Social Security, and provisions of the tax code.
Mercatus Center | Why We Have Federal Deficits: The Policy Decisions That Created Them
The vast majority—more than three-fourths—of the currently projected long-term fiscal imbalance derives from a set of decisions made between 1965 and 1972: specifically, the creation and subsequent expansion of Medicare and Medicaid and the automatic indexation of Social Security benefits.
WSJ | Budget Battle Breeds Dysfunctional Spending
As Negotiators Still Far Apart, Stopgap Measure Keeps Some Policies in Place That Don't Make Sense.
Politico | Scant progress on budget negotiating panel
The second public meeting of a House-Senate budget negotiating committee yielded few signs that lawmakers will be able to resolve deep differences over fiscal policy.
WSJ | U.S. Budget Deficit Narrows in October
The U.S. government's deficit for October totaled $91.59 billion, compared with a $120.00 billion shortfall during the same period a year earlier, the Treasury Department said Wednesday in its monthly report. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast a $95.0 billion deficit.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CBO | Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023
This volume presents 103 options that would decrease federal spending or increase federal revenues over the next decade. Those options cover many areas—ranging from defense to energy, Social Security, and provisions of the tax code.
Mercatus Center | Why We Have Federal Deficits: The Policy Decisions That Created Them
The vast majority—more than three-fourths—of the currently projected long-term fiscal imbalance derives from a set of decisions made between 1965 and 1972: specifically, the creation and subsequent expansion of Medicare and Medicaid and the automatic indexation of Social Security benefits.
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