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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | The Shanghai Free Trade Zone is a dud
When it opened one year ago, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was hyped as a laboratory for economic reform that would help push China into a new golden age of prosperity.
Bloomberg | U.S. Home Heating Costs to Fall in Milder Winter
U.S. households will see heating costs drop this winter as milder weather reduces demand, the Energy Information Administration said.
Market Watch | IMF again slices global growth view on Europe, Japan woes
Stagnation in Europe and a weaker-than-forecast recovery in Japan has led the International Monetary Fund to again cut its global growth outlook, according to forecasts released Tuesday.
Market Watch | Home-price growth hits slowest pace in nearly two years
Home prices eked out a slim gain in August, restraining annual growth to the slowest pace in almost two years, according to data released Tuesday.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Wall Street Journal | Unrealistic Green Expectations
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and heirs to the Rockefeller fortune, recently pledged to divest fossil-fuel holdings, joining endowed institutions, local governments and wealthy individuals representing over $50 billion in assets.
Market Watch | Lew: U.S. cannot be world's only engine of growth
The U.S. economy alone cannot propel the global economy forward, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Tuesday.
CNN Money | 'Mediocre' growth plagues world economy
The record is stuck. The world economy will grow by just 3.3% in 2014, little changed from last year, or the year before that.
NBER | The Bond Market: An Inflation-Targeter's Best Friend
This paper explores the relationship between inflation and the existence of a publicly-traded, long-maturity, nominal, domestic-currency bond market.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Wall Street Journal and Absolute Strategy Unveil New Economic Indexes
Absolute Strategy Research and the Wall Street Journal announced Tuesday the release of a new set of monthly economic indexes designed to track major national economies and the global economy.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | New Costly Cancer Treatments Face Hurdles Getting to Patients
Cancer treatments that genetically modify patients’ blood cells to target the disease have shown amazing results in clinical trials. Now drug companies and biotechs must overcome big hurdles to get them into hospitals, including their potential cost.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Mercatus | The Affordable Care Act and the New Economics of Part-Time Work
Starting this year, the United States’ working population will face three major employment disincentives resulting from the very benefits the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides: (1) an explicit tax on full-time work, (2) an implicit tax on full-time work for those who are ineligible for the ACA’s health insurance subsidies, and (3) an implicit tax that links the amount of available subsidies to workers’ incomes.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Global Banks Face 25% Loss-Absorbency Rule in FSB Plan
The largest global banks will have to hold more capital and liabilities than previously reported that can automatically be written off in a crisis -- as much as a quarter of risk-weighted assets -- as regulators take on lenders deemed too big to fail.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | Goldman Sachs Employees Can, New York Fed Regulators Can't
In his recently released book, The CEO Tightrope, Joel Trammell made plain what is all too often missed about the individuals who work on Wall Street: they're wildly talented.
AEI | On balance, a little inflation is better than a lot of unemployment
We learned last Friday that in September the unemployment rate fell below 6 percent. This is, of course, good news.

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Amazon's taxes draw Europe's scrutiny
Europe's top regulator said it believes the online retailer has been receiving state aid from Luxembourg for over a decade by taking advantage of a preferential tax deal with the nation.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
The Washington Times | Taxes, fines and government extortion
When the government "fines" you for not buying health insurance, is it, in fact, a fine, a tax or government extortion?
Cato Institute | Brown’s Tax and Spending Spree
The Great Recession ended in 2009, but its effects are still being felt within state budgets.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
Politico | Turner Broadcasting to cut staff by 10 percent; CNN to shed 300 jobs
Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN, TBS, TNT and several other channels, plans to cut its total workforce by 10 percent in the weeks ahead, eliminating nearly 1,500 positions.
Bloomberg | Job Openings in U.S. Increase to Highest Level in 13 Years
Job openings in the U.S. climbed to a 13-year high in August as employers gained confidence about the outlook for demand in the world's biggest economy.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Quits rate will have to increase before Yellen allows hikes, economist says
Ahead of Tuesday’s data on job openings, Deutsche Bank’s Joseph LaVorgna points out the series on the quits and hiring rates will have to improve before Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen is satisfied enough to lift interest rates.

Budget

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
USA Today | Your student loan is killing the housing market
Millennials already have to deal with hefty debt from college, an iffy job market, and growing up in an era where MTV no longer plays music videos, but now they're being blamed for holding back the real estate boom.