News
Bloomberg | Support Eroding for U.S. Money Funds Rule as SEC's White Pushes Vote
One year after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new protections for money-market mutual funds, support is eroding for the agency’s plan to rein in the riskiest funds.
WSJ | Greek Economy Expected to Return to Growth This Year
Greece's central bank said it expects the country to exit a six-year recession this year, but warned that any complacency on reforms could thwart the economy's positive momentum.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CNN Money | Auto bailout still largely unpopular
The CNNMoney American Dream poll shows six in 10 Americans believe the government should not have spent billions to rescue General Motors (GM) and Chrysler from the brink of bankruptcy. Just under four in 10 -- 38% -- believe the bailout was the right move.
Bloomberg | China No-Money-Down Housing Echoes U.S. Subprime Loan Risks
China’s home buyers are being offered no-money-down purchases in an echo of the subprime lending that triggered a U.S. economic meltdown and the global financial crisis.
NY Times | Remember the Problems With Mortgage Defaults? They’re Coming Back With Student Loans
Student loans, along with mortgages and car loans, have become one of the three largest sources of credit, exceeding credit-card debt. This growth in student debt appears to have caught regulators unprepared. Compared with mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, student loans are loosely regulated, and that regulatory weakness is particularly threatening to consumers because they can’t discharge their debts through bankruptcy and escape lenders who are causing them harm.
Real Clear Markets | Don't Despair, A Changing Economy Is On the Rebound
June 2014 marks five years since the Great Recession officially ended and, despite the frenetic and sometimes imaginative (remember ‘Cash for Clunkers') lever pulling by policy makers in Washington, the recovery has been anything but great.
Washington Times | Cleaning (school) house on teacher tenure
Bad teachers must go. And now they might, in California. A California court, invoking common sense with the Constitution and the law, ruled that exaggerated protection of incompetent teachers without regard for the impact on their students is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution. It’s a welcome victory for students in poor and minority districts.
AEI | Rescuing subprime borrowers won't fix the economy
In their new book, House of Debt, Atif Mian and Amir Sufi make a persuasive argument that a decline in consumption caused by a drop in home prices slowed the economic recovery more than a weakened banking system. Even if banks were strong, they argue, the demand for loans would still be weak. Mian and Amir Sufi blame a sharp increase in savings by highly levered homeowners for the fall off in consumption and borrowing; as a result, the authors urge taxpayers to cover homeowner losses, including unrealized losses, to stimulate demand and help grow the economy.
Blogs
WSJ | Risky Business in China’s Financial System
Is China heading for a financial crisis? Some risk indicators have risen markedly over the past twelve months: Interbank rates are more volatile, with liquidity shortages increasingly common; there have been a few minor bank runs; and the country experienced its first corporate default in recent history earlier this year.
WSJ | Experts: Builders’ Shift to More Home Construction Might Take 1-2 Years
Home-building experts predict it might take a year, perhaps two, before the industry fully shifts to constructing a greater volume of homes at lower prices from its current focus of padding profit margins by selling fewer, more expensive homes.
