General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | JPMorgan can deduct big chunk of $13 billion deal
The majority of the $13 billion settlement JPMorgan struck with the government Tuesday is likely to be tax deductible, reducing the bank's financial hit.
Bloomberg | Retail Sales in U.S. Increased More Than Forecast in October
Retail sales in the U.S. rose more than forecast in October, a sign that consumer spending was resilient even during the government shutdown.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Washington Times | Forget party loyalties, let’s save America
When I was a teenager, we loved to play baseball, and in my neighborhood there were two teams. Both of them were quite good, but they were bitter rivals. It was not uncommon for fights to break out when they played each other.
Forbes | Americans Are Living Better Then They Have At Any Point In Human History
Hans Riegel recently died at age 90.  He was not a household name, even in his home country of Germany.  But he changed the world for the better.  He brought us gummi bears.
Real Clear Markets | The FHA Is a Predatory Lender
According to the FDIC's Inspector General: "Predatory lending typically involves imposing unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers, often through aggressive sales tactics; taking advantage of borrowers' lack of understanding of complicated transactions; and outright deception."
Mercatus | Regulating Automobiles: The Consequences for Consumers
A popular argument for regulation holds that leaving consumers and manufacturers to their own devices would lead to undesirable outcomes.
NBER | Wait-and-See: Investment Options under Policy Uncertainty
This paper develops a model of investment decisions in which uncertainty about a one-time change in tax policy induces the firm to temporarily stop investing—to adopt a wait-and-see policy. After the uncertainty is resolved, the firm exploits the tabled projects, generating a temporary investment boom.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Fortune | What Obama's crashing poll numbers really mean
For five years, the American people have given the President the benefit of the doubt on the economy. But the bungled launch of Obamacare has burst the goodwill bubble. He may not get a do-over.
Library of Economics | The Economic Illiteracy of High School History
In 11th grade, I took Advanced Placement U.S. History.  I enjoyed it at the time.  Once I started studying economics, however, I was outraged by the economic illiteracy of my history textbooks. 
Coordination Problem | The Daunting Problem of Economic Reform
Last week Paul Krugman told the world about a plot against France, as Standard and Poor’s downgraded the country’s bond rating to AA+. Bearing in mind that the public debt of most major Western countries will never be repaid, what agencies look at is the extent to which countries can service their debt.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | Consumers Will Soon Be Able to Skip Obamacare Website
Insurance companies have always been able to enroll Americans in Affordable Care Act exchange coverage, but people who qualified for premium assistance had to complete their applications and receive an eligibility notice through HealthCare.gov.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
WSJ | How the GOP Should Fix ObamaCare
The problem is simply stated. Millions will be losing their individual insurance policies that they were promised they could keep. They will be expected to buy more expensive ObamaCare-approved policies than they want or need, and to do so from ObamaCare exchanges that aren't working.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Heritage Foundation | Obamacare Exchanges Have Reduced Insurance Competition Nationally
A recent Heritage analysis found significantly less insurer competition in the Obamacare exchanges relative to the prior individual health insurance market.
Neighborhood Effects | Why Mandating Higher Quality is Regressive
Lately, a lot of attention has been given to the fact that millions of Americans are seeing their health insurance plans cancelled as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Some pundits have gone so far as to argue this is a good thing.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Bernanke Signals Fed Target Rate to Stay Low After QE
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the Fed will probably hold down its target interest rate long after ending $85 billion in monthly bond buying, and possibly after unemployment falls below 6.5 percent.
National Journal | Bernanke: 'Significant Progress' on Openness
One of Ben Bernanke's goals when he became chairman of the Federal Reserve was to make the historically secretive central bank more transparent. The hope was that the economy would reap the benefits.
Bloomberg | Consumer Prices in U.S. Decline for First Time in Six Months
The cost of living in the U.S. declined in October for the first time in six months, showing inflation remains below the Federal Reserve’s goal.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Bloomberg | Evans Says Bond Buying May Total More Than $1.5 Trillion
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, a voter on policy this year, said the Fed may buy a total of $1.5 trillion in bonds in a program that started in January 2013 to ensure steady employment gains.

Taxes

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Politico | Max Baucus starts tax debate with draft proposals
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus on Tuesday issued long-awaited proposals to revamp how multinational companies are taxed on foreign profits, igniting a fiery debate with Republicans and the corporations that could be losers under a changed system.
WSJ | U.S. Companies Split on Tax Plan
A Senate committee chairman's proposal to overhaul the U.S. corporate-tax system, released Tuesday, exposed fault lines among big businesses and showed the challenge he faces in building a coalition to support the concept.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Fired Wal-Mart workers could get jobs back
Wal-Mart workers who were allegedly fired for protesting for better pay could soon get their jobs back.
Bloomberg | Census Sees No ‘Systemic Manipulation’ of U.S. Jobs Data
There is no sign U.S. jobs statistics have been compromised by broad-based employee fabrication of data, according to the Census Bureau.
CNN Money | House panel to investigate unemployment data
Did Census Bureau employees fabricate data used in calculating the nation's unemployment rate? A House panel, led by Republicans, has opened an investigation.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
WSJ | Hiring Remains Tepid Even as Faith in U.S. Economy Grows
As the economy continues to slog through a slow recovery, executives at companies involved in everything from chemicals to telecommunications say they're starting to become more optimistic about growth but remain cautious about hiring.

Budget

News                                                                                                                             
Politico | Hope grows for budget deal
They’ve been written off as a doomed-to-fail duo: Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray, the congressional budget leaders who are on an uphill quest to reach any kind of fiscal deal.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Investors | Obama's Debt Buildup Risks A Major Fiscal Catastrophe
Fiscal Fraud: The government issued an astounding $1 trillion in new debt during the first six weeks of the fiscal year. How could such a thing happen with nary a peep? Just like ObamaCare, it's more government deceit.
WSJ | Lew Says Lawmakers Should Consider Debt-Limit 'Reform'
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Tuesday said policy makers should consider a "reform" of the government's longstanding borrowing limit, saying it could help to prevent future fiscal clashes that he said harm economic growth.