News
Bloomberg | China’s Economic Expansion Accelerates to 7.5%
China’s economic growth accelerated for the first time in three quarters after the government sped up spending and freed up more money for loans to counter a property slump.
Bloomberg | Gain in Factory Output Provides Boost to U.S. Growth
Industrial production climbed in June to cap the strongest quarter in almost four years as manufacturers provided a bigger spark for the U.S. economy.
Bloomberg | Homebuilder Confidence in U.S. Climbs to Six-Month High
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose more than forecast in July, reaching the highest level in six months, as growing payrolls brightened the outlook after a shaky first half.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | The Gaping Hole In the Middle of Dodd-Frank
When President Obama signed Dodd-Frank into law four years ago, there was a widely acknowledged hole in the legislation-housing finance reform was left for later.
National Journal | Conservative Groups Unite Against Export-Import Bank
A powerful coalition of conservative advocacy groups is taking a united stand against the Export-Import Bank, raising the stakes in the debate over whether to reauthorize the agency that provides foreign loan guarantees aimed at boosting U.S. exports.
Market Watch | Right and left finally agree: Obama has checked out
Mainstream media joins right-wing critics
Mercatus | The US Export-Import Bank: A Review of the Debate over Reauthorization
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank)—the federal government’s export-credit agency—faces an uncertain future. With the bank’s charter soon to expire, Washington has become the scene of a fierce battle over whether to continue funding this obscure, Depression-era government bank.
AEI | Stop worrying about the 1 percent. Their money can't help the middle class.
It would be an understatement to claim that income inequality is much discussed these days. And if you have read the Internet in the last few months, you surely witnessed the fawning, obnoxious adoration heaped upon Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.” Often bought, seldom read, Piketty’s 700 pages shine a big bright light on the fortunes of the top one percent, and have made him a hero in the eyes of the inequality left.
Blogs
WSJ | The Homeownership Rate for Millennials Has Hit Bottom
More millennials became homeowners last year, a sign that the homeownership rate among America’s young adults may have hit bottom, according to a new analysis of Census data published Wednesday.
Yahoo Finance | Investors haven't been this optimistic since 1987. Here's why that's bad.
The most recent survey by Investors Intelligence reports a market bull/bear ratio of 4-to-1. That’s the highest it’s been all year, close to the peak of 2013 and approaching levels not seen since early 1987.
Library of Economics | Governments don't create problems, they solve problems
Yes, I'm being sarcastic. I associate this view with American liberals. It often seems that when there is a problem such as the 2008 financial crisis, they immediately assume "the market" is to blame, and "more regulation" is the answer. On closer inspection it's also a view of policymakers, whether liberal or conservative.
