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Thursday, September 25, 2014

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | Inside Big Oil's Fight Over Arctic Drilling Rules
Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips are pressing White House officials on upcoming standards for drilling operations in Arctic seas.
Market Watch | Over 900,000 homes regain equity in second quarter
U.S. homeowners’ negative equity tumbled last quarter, with the second greatest drop in underwater properties since data tracking started, according to a Thursday release.
National Journal | Even as Sun Belt Cities Grow, Many Are Left Behind
Fueled by the energy boom, this sprawling and steamy city has added significantly more jobs since 2000 than any other U.S. metropolitan area.
Bloomberg | Consumer Comfort in U.S. Falls to Lowest Since Early June
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Market Watch | Look past 18% tumble — durable-goods data was solid
Orders for durable U.S. goods plunged by a record 18.2% in August after a record 22.5% gain in July, mainly because of up-and-down demand for large and expensive commercial airplanes, government data showed Thursday.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | Why the CEO Earns Much More Than You Do
The timing was interesting for a number of reasons, but in retrospect a major reason was that the economic dip of 2008 hadn't yet revealed itself.
Real Clear Markets | California's Economic Recovery That Wasn't
California's Employment Development Department announced that the state added 44,200 jobs in August. This news was trumpeted by Sacramento as further evidence of California's comeback.
Market Watch | Surprise! Businesses actually are investing a lot
The yawning gap between the U.S. bull market in stocks and the historically weak economic recovery seems proof positive that something is fundamentally wrong with American business’ priorities – and especially its lack of interest in creating and productively investing capital.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Cato Institute | Financial Crisis Lessons From Experimental Economics
Economic scholarship tends to operate in silos. That is, banking scholars don’t talk to macroeconomists, etc.

Health Care

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Cato Institute | Economists’ Arguments against Obamacare Lawsuits Backfire
Three years ago, we blew the whistle on the government behavior now being challenged in multiple Obamacare lawsuits.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Fed Trio Urges Patience on Rates Amid Cooling Inflation
Three Federal Reserve presidents are calling for patience as the central bank weighs when to raise interest rates above zero, arguing moving prematurely poses a greater risk to the economy than waiting too long.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Market Watch | Here’s what will happen to stocks before and after rates rise
Last week the Federal Open Market Committee surprised a lot of pundits by doing what it has said it would do.
Bloomberg | Banks Face Stable Funding Rule After Basel Strikes Accord
Global regulators have reached a deal on a rule requiring banks to use funding sources that won’t dry up in a crisis.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed Economist Calls for ‘Urgency’ in Addressing Unemployment
The U.S. job market remains far from full health despite recent progress, and requires active efforts by policy makers to help it heal, a Federal Reserve economist said Wednesday.

Taxes

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
AEI | State taxation of interstate commerce and income flows: The economics of neutrality
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits state taxes that discriminate against interstate commerce, it has failed to provide a clear explanation of which taxes are discriminatory.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Jobless Claims in U.S. Climbed Less Than Forecast Last Week
Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. increased less than forecast last week as an improving economy prompted employers to retain staff.
Market Watch | Los Angeles approves raising minimum wage for large-hotel workers
The city council here has approved one of the nation’s highest minimum wages for workers at the city’s large hotels.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear | http://www.realclear.com/markets/2014/09/24/bass_unemployment_rate_rigged_closer_to_11_8901.html
America's unemployment rate as measured by the Labor Department vastly underrepresents the number of Americans actually out of work, hedge fund manager Kyle Bass told CNBC.

Budget

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Wall Street Journal | Surge in Student Debt Forgiveness
Last week we told you about the $20 billion annual rise in Department of Education outlays, due to an increase in student-loan borrowers using income-based repayment programs.
The Washington Times | The two views of government: Raising taxes or cutting spending
The final days of September are a time of last-minute budget wrangling in towns across America.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Student Loan Defaults Vary Wildly by State
Across the U.S., the share of Americans defaulting on their student loans shortly after leaving school fell in the past year. But the performance of borrowers varied greatly among the states