News
Politico | Barack Obama cracks down on for-profit colleges
The Obama administration on Friday took an aggressive step to crack down on for-profit career training colleges, proposing a regulatory regimen that could shut down hundreds of degree programs — enrolling a million students in fields ranging from accounting to air-conditioning repair — for failing to place graduates in well-paying jobs.
FOX Business | Consumer Sentiment Dips in March
Consumer sentiment dipped modestly in early March, entirely due to reduced expectations for the future, a survey said on Friday.
Politico | BP deal opens door for new U.S. drilling
BP will be allowed to sign new leases to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico under a deal announced Thursday with the U.S. government that resolves outstanding issues tied to the British giant’s role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
FOX Business | Big Data: Good For Business, Not For Jobs
Big Data is proving to be a big money-maker for businesses, but data workers aren't reaping similar rewards. A new report suggests that while many companies have committed to spending more of their budgets on Big Data marketing initiatives in the new year, job opportunities for data analysts are actually on the decline.
WSJ | Economists See China Slowdown as Biggest Threat to U.S. Recovery
Forget the Crimea annexation or a U.S.-Russia standoff. The biggest international threat to U.S. economic growth is the slowdown in China, say economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fiscal Times | Is the Middle Class Better Off Than We Think?
It seems to be taken as given these days that the American middle class is struggling — perhaps even disappearing — as income gains are concentrated at the high end of the wealth distribution, and the kind of well-paid blue collar jobs that existed for several generations continue to disappear. - See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/03/13/Middle-Class-Better-We-Think#sthash.ZAOtVqLY.dpuf
Fiscal Times | Obama Works Overtime to Interfere With Business
The Roman Empire notoriously distracted its citizenry by providing bread and circuses to mollify and distract them from the real problems of their lives and the failures of their government. Washington DC kept up that hoary tradition this week, starting with an all-night Senate session on global warming, conducted by Senate Democrats protesting the lack of action by the US government on the issue. - See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/03/13/Obama-Works-Overtime-Interfere-Business#sthash.JSg2pWvv.dpuf
Market Watch | Oil sale from SPR raises questions of timing, politics
The U.S. government picked an unusual time to announce that it is putting up to 5 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for sale.
Real Clear Markets | 2014 Could Likely Be a 2008 Housing Repeat
After fretting over mortgages for close to a decade now, we still cannot escape the wincing throes of the housing bubble. I should actually be more specific in that regard, as it now appears closer to reality that we will actually experience a second revulsion in housing in 2014 very similar in mannerism to a bubble collapse.
AEI | Gain value from technology and private partnerships
America's infrastructure is old, poorly maintained and in need of revitalization. But the cost of major renovations exceeds state and local resources in a time of persistent fiscal problems in cities and when new federal infrastructure programs are unlikely to be approved.
Blogs
WSJ | Korea-U.S. FTA Scorecard Shows Seoul the Bigger Winner
The U.S.-South Korean free trade agreement marks its second anniversary Saturday. The landmark deal, effective since March 15, 2012, helped boost bilateral trade. A question is which side benefits more? The answer is Seoul, not Washington, according to trade data in South Korea.
