News
FOX Business | Report: NY AG Launches High-Frequency Trading Probe
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has reportedly launched a probe into whether U.S. stock exchanges and other venues give high-frequency traders improper advantages.
CNN Money | Income inequality hits retirement confidence
Wealthier retirement savers are regaining confidence that they'll be able to afford to retire comfortably, but lower-income workers remain worried their nest eggs will fall short.
Bloomberg | Housing Starts in U.S. Little Changed From Stronger January
Housing starts in the U.S. were little changed in February after declining less than previously estimated a month earlier, indicating the home-building industry is stabilizing after bad winter weather curbed construction.
WSJ | Senate Lawmakers Unveil Bill to Eliminate Fannie, Freddie
Senate lawmakers released their first draft of a bipartisan bill Sunday spelling out their proposal, previously announced last week, to eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The legislation replaces the mortgage-finance giants with a new system in which the government would continue to play a potentially significant role insuring U.S. home loans.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Policy | The Complicated Reality of 'Too Big to Fail'
"Too big to fail" continues to generate headlines five years after the start of the financial crisis. The scarlet letters of TBTF overshadow any positive news for the big banks. But do we know really the full story?
Real Clear Markets | Inequality As a Barrier to Growth? Invented Out of Thin Air
The idea that inequality limits a country's economic growth is on the verge of becoming conventional wisdom. But, despite the latest International Monetary Fund report, no one has proved the negative macroeconomic effects of inequality.
Politico | 6 Things Congress Should Do Right Now
It’s Nov. 5, 2014, the morning after the midterm congressional elections. The United States has woken up to another shellacking. But this time the debacle is not specific to either Democrats or Republicans. Instead, it is Congress as a whole—a complete rejection, due in large part to its repeated inability to help put America back on the path of sustained economic growth, full employment and increasing prosperity for more than just a wealthy few.
Fortune | An aging population won't make America poor
Technological advances will demand fewer workers and could offset the impacts of an aging workforce.
Mercatus | Regulatory Reform in Florida: An Opportunity for Greater Competitiveness and Economic Efficiency
Regulation often seems like the neglected stepchild of government. Yet, while politicians and pundits focus on headline-making topics like taxes and entitlements, the regulatory bureaucracies keep adding more and more pages of regulatory code.
Heritage Foundation | Revealing Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Budget Costs: A Step Toward GSE Elimination
The current budgetary treatment of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as off-budget federal entities, meaning that they are excluded from budgeting rules and processes, creates deficit reduction in appearance only with several ill effects.
Blogs
WSJ | Signs of Slowing in Housing
First the National Association of Home Builders said its members feel less upbeat about the future. The housing market index increased to 47 in March but that was after the index plunged 10 points to 46 in February. A reading below 50 means more builders view conditions as poor rather than good.
