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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | Here's What's Happening After the Debt Ceiling: Nothing
The debt-ceiling bill passed by the House Tuesday, unburdened by additional Republican policy demands, appears headed for approval in the Senate, which would mark an end to major fiscal fights for the rest of the year.
CNN Money | House votes to restore military pensions
The House on Tuesday passed a bill to restore pension increases for some 750,000 military retirees, but the fate of the legislation remained uncertain as disagreements in the Senate threatened to kill the bill.
WSJ | USDA Projects U.S. Net Farm Income to Decline 27% in 2014
American farm incomes are expected to plunge by 27% to the lowest level since 2010, federal forecasters said Tuesday, as a sharp drop in crop prices erases some of the gains from years of strong growth in rural economies.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Market Watch | Next crisis won’t come from the emerging markets
Right on cue, the plunge in emerging markets that started this year has given us, courtesy of the analysts at Morgan Stanley, the Fragile Five. Comprised of Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey and India, they have been singled out because their big current-account deficits mean they are acutely vulnerable to a sudden exit of foreign capital.
NBER | Firm Age, Investment Opportunities, and Job Creation
This paper asks whether startups react more to changing investment opportunities than more mature firms do.
Market Watch | Fed's Fisher blames Congress for slow recovery
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher on Tuesday reportedly blamed the U.S. Congress and federal government for weighing on the economy and dragging on the recovery.
Real Clear Markets | An Old Story About the War On Poverty
Recent weeks have seen a blizzard of media stories and reports, including one from the Council of Economic Advisors, about whether the War on Poverty was a success. What a surprise - Democrats tend to say it worked wonders while Republicans judge it to be a flop. However, there is one impact of President Johnson's War on Poverty that everyone should agree has been a terrific success, although a future problem looms. I'm referring to the positive impacts of the War on Poverty on the health, life expectancy, and poverty rates of the elderly.
CATO | Drop America’s Energy Export Ban
For years people have been told to expect a dismal energy future. But because of rapid market innovation, Americans now can look forward to a future of energy abundance. The U.S. could even become a leading exporter.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ | Skipping College Is Getting More Expensive
A new report from the Pew Research Center finds that Millennials with a college degree earn more, have higher employment rates and report greater job satisfaction than those who stopped their formal educations during or after high school.
WSJ | Is U.S. Housing Unaffordable? It Depends on How You Chart It
Rising home prices and interest rates made housing less affordable last year than at any time in the last five years, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors.