News
Politico | A different royalty plan for oil
For the second time in three years oil prices have stayed near or over $100 per barrel for months on end. This pain at the pump is not just hurting cash strapped motorists who can ill afford it. It is also incubation an inflationary trend that threatens fragile job creation and our economic recovery.
WSJ | Housing Imperils Recovery
Home Prices Sink to 2002 Levels; Consumer Confidence Falls as Pessimism Grows.
Market Watch | ISM manufacturing gauge tumbles in May
Growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector receded in May, owing to fewer orders and less production, according to a closely followed index.
WSJ | Economic Outlook Darkens
Markets Stumble as Factories, Hiring Slow Down; Biggest Drop in Stocks in a Year.
Econ Comments
WSJ | Future Oil Supplies Can Lower Prices Today
We benefit now from more exploration, even if it takes years for new product to reach the market.
Washington Times | RAFUSE: Unilateral energy disarmament
Taking ‘fracking’ off the table would give foreign energy suppliers leverage.
WSJ | Obama's Cloud Economy
The economy is flying without instruments because of the White House's policy choices.
Daily Caller | Struggling economy is mre eveidence that government stimuli never work.
With a flamboyant downgrade of the outlook for economic growth, jobs and profits, Wednesday's 280-point Dow plunge to launch the so-called June stock swoon is a warning shot across the bow.
WSJ | Secretary of Subsidy
Obama's Commerce nominee knows all about corporate welfare.
RCM | U.S. Already In a Growth Recession
We know the president is busy, but maybe it's time he returned to thinking about our foundering, job-challenged economy.
WSJ | The Housing Illusion
Washington policies have only prolonged the pain.
Blogs
The Economist | How real is China's growth?
I'm now back from China, and I'm going to resist the temptation to draw grand, sweeping conclusions based on two weeks jaunting around the country. I will tell you some of my impressions, however. And I'll start with the primary question on my mind as I left to visit China: how real is its economic growth?
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo | ISM: Slower Pace of Expansion, Yet Prices Remain an Issue
Moderation of the elevated level of the ISM index suggests growth in the factory sector is slowing, which is consistent with our GDP forecast of 1.8% in Q2. However, the cyclical upswing in prices remains a concern.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Health Care
News
National Journal | Could It Have Been Prevented? If So, Medicaid Won't Pay
“These steps will encourage health professionals and hospitals to reduce preventable infections, and eliminate serious medical errors," Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick said in a statement.
NYT | Report Finds Inequities in Payments for Medicare
Although Medicare is a national program, it adjusts payments to health care providers to reflect regional differences in wages, rent and other costs.
National Journal | Reid: Ryan Plan Would Eliminate Insurance to Millions of Children
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., laid into the Republican budget plan again on Tuesday, saying the proposal will take away health coverage not only from seniors, but also potentially from millions of children.
Politico | Health reform lawsuit in jeopardy?
A federal appeals panel questioned Wednesday whether a conservative legal center's challenge to the health law is still valid after the revelation last week that a key plaintiff had already bought health insurance.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Plaintiffs Should Be Cautiously Optimistic about Latest Obamacare Appeal
All in all, it was a fascinating day in court that proved again that no matter how much one studies the Obamacare challenges, there’s always something new to learn.
Econlog | Law, Legislation, and Medicare
Medicare, which has been around for most of our adult lives, has accustomed the elderly to the notion that they can have any medical procedure recommended by a doctor without having to pay for it. Any deviation from that custom would violate the law, in Hayek's sense. Hence, "government, keep your hands off my Medicare."
Cato@Liberty | Medicare Reform: Throwing Wasserman-Schultz ‘to the Wolves’
On CBS’s Face the Nation, Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL) said this of the House Republicans’ Medicare reform plan:
National Journal | Could It Have Been Prevented? If So, Medicaid Won't Pay
“These steps will encourage health professionals and hospitals to reduce preventable infections, and eliminate serious medical errors," Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick said in a statement.
NYT | Report Finds Inequities in Payments for Medicare
Although Medicare is a national program, it adjusts payments to health care providers to reflect regional differences in wages, rent and other costs.
National Journal | Reid: Ryan Plan Would Eliminate Insurance to Millions of Children
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., laid into the Republican budget plan again on Tuesday, saying the proposal will take away health coverage not only from seniors, but also potentially from millions of children.
Politico | Health reform lawsuit in jeopardy?
A federal appeals panel questioned Wednesday whether a conservative legal center's challenge to the health law is still valid after the revelation last week that a key plaintiff had already bought health insurance.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Plaintiffs Should Be Cautiously Optimistic about Latest Obamacare Appeal
All in all, it was a fascinating day in court that proved again that no matter how much one studies the Obamacare challenges, there’s always something new to learn.
Econlog | Law, Legislation, and Medicare
Medicare, which has been around for most of our adult lives, has accustomed the elderly to the notion that they can have any medical procedure recommended by a doctor without having to pay for it. Any deviation from that custom would violate the law, in Hayek's sense. Hence, "government, keep your hands off my Medicare."
Cato@Liberty | Medicare Reform: Throwing Wasserman-Schultz ‘to the Wolves’
On CBS’s Face the Nation, Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL) said this of the House Republicans’ Medicare reform plan:
Monetary
News
Market Watch | Fed sees froth but no asset bubbles: Yellen
The Federal Reserve has detected a few markets exhibiting signs of froth that will require close scrutiny in coming months, but there are no signs of any significant asset bubbles at the moment, said Janet Yellen, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. central bank, in a speech in Tokyo on Thursday morning.
Econ Comments
National Journal | Luetkemeyer: U.S. Could Go the Way of Greece
House Financial Services member also takes issue with U.S. holdings in Europe.
CNN: Money | The Fed's summer of discontent
QE2 is almost over. Our long economic nightmare? Not so much.
Minyanville | Yuan Is Not a Paper Shelter for a US Dollar Collapse
Because of China's ties to the US consumer, the yuan may not prove to be a worthy shelter if the dollar decline continues.
WSJ | Economy Needs a Borrower of Last Resort
A lack of funds isn't hampering the U.S. economy right now. It is a lack of demand for them.
RCM | Why Robert Mundell Is Wrong About the Dollar/Euro
Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell and his followers have made some noise of late about the need to achieve a fixed exchange rate between the dollar and the euro. About their desire for an exchange rate fix they're certainly correct, though they're wildly incorrect in suggesting that inflation and deflation can be cured if the U.S. Treasury simply ties the dollar to the euro.
Forbes | Inflation Won't Wait For The Banks
It is the existence of newly created money that hastens the dollar's decline.
Blogs
Marginal Revolution | The “New Monetary Economics” is alive and well
Although the term has fallen out of use, in the last three to four years the NME has made a big comeback, albeit not under that name:
Atlantic | Euro in Crisis
I've been making the argument for a long time--at least seven years in print, and in private before that--that the eurozone looks about as stable as the Unabomber. Especially when you have a fiat currency, you need to think about what makes an optimal currency zone--the largest unit that can easily share a unit of money.
Market Watch | Fed sees froth but no asset bubbles: Yellen
The Federal Reserve has detected a few markets exhibiting signs of froth that will require close scrutiny in coming months, but there are no signs of any significant asset bubbles at the moment, said Janet Yellen, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. central bank, in a speech in Tokyo on Thursday morning.
Econ Comments
National Journal | Luetkemeyer: U.S. Could Go the Way of Greece
House Financial Services member also takes issue with U.S. holdings in Europe.
CNN: Money | The Fed's summer of discontent
QE2 is almost over. Our long economic nightmare? Not so much.
Minyanville | Yuan Is Not a Paper Shelter for a US Dollar Collapse
Because of China's ties to the US consumer, the yuan may not prove to be a worthy shelter if the dollar decline continues.
WSJ | Economy Needs a Borrower of Last Resort
A lack of funds isn't hampering the U.S. economy right now. It is a lack of demand for them.
RCM | Why Robert Mundell Is Wrong About the Dollar/Euro
Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell and his followers have made some noise of late about the need to achieve a fixed exchange rate between the dollar and the euro. About their desire for an exchange rate fix they're certainly correct, though they're wildly incorrect in suggesting that inflation and deflation can be cured if the U.S. Treasury simply ties the dollar to the euro.
Forbes | Inflation Won't Wait For The Banks
It is the existence of newly created money that hastens the dollar's decline.
Blogs
Marginal Revolution | The “New Monetary Economics” is alive and well
Although the term has fallen out of use, in the last three to four years the NME has made a big comeback, albeit not under that name:
Atlantic | Euro in Crisis
I've been making the argument for a long time--at least seven years in print, and in private before that--that the eurozone looks about as stable as the Unabomber. Especially when you have a fiat currency, you need to think about what makes an optimal currency zone--the largest unit that can easily share a unit of money.
Employment
News
WSJ | Jobs Market Picks Up for Graduates
Financial-Services Companies, Consulting Firms Lead Hiring of M.B.A. Students After Declines.
MarketWatch | Economists rush to mark down payrolls estimates
Nonfarm increase for May pegged at 125,000 after midweek moves.
Bloomberg | U.S. Productivity Slowed in First Quarter
The measure of employee output per hour increased at a 1.8 percent annual rate after a 2.9 percent gain in the prior three months, revised figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington.
MarketWatch | Applications for jobless benefits fall slightly
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, according to fresh government data, but new claims remained at a level typically associated with subpar hiring trends.
WSJ | Jobs Market Picks Up for Graduates
Financial-Services Companies, Consulting Firms Lead Hiring of M.B.A. Students After Declines.
MarketWatch | Economists rush to mark down payrolls estimates
Nonfarm increase for May pegged at 125,000 after midweek moves.
Bloomberg | U.S. Productivity Slowed in First Quarter
The measure of employee output per hour increased at a 1.8 percent annual rate after a 2.9 percent gain in the prior three months, revised figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington.
MarketWatch | Applications for jobless benefits fall slightly
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, according to fresh government data, but new claims remained at a level typically associated with subpar hiring trends.
Budget
News
CNN Money | States' latest problem: Too much money
The windfall is setting off new rounds of budget battles between state lawmakers and governors, who not long ago were slashing and burning their programs and services.
NY Times | Improved Tax Collections Can’t Keep Pace With States’ Fiscal Needs, Survey Finds
Although state tax collections are picking up after several brutal years, a new survey by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers found that states still expect to collect less tax revenue and spend less money in the coming fiscal year than they did before the Great Recession began.
Politico | John Boehner calls for debt deal in a month
House Speaker John Boehner said he doesn’t want to run up against an August deadline for boosting the nation’s debt limit — fearing that it could unnerve Wall Street — but he’s refusing to back away from his calls for major spending cuts in return for a debt deal with the White House.
Econ Comments
WSJ | In Praise of Debt Limit 'Chicken'
Yesterday 150 economists released a statement saying a higher debt ceiling should be tied to spending reform now.
Daily Caller | Limit debt before raising debt limit
Over the past two years, President Obama and Congressional Democrats have overseen the largest budget deficits in the history of the U.S.
WSJ | The Debt Limit Dance
Eighty-two Democrats, or nearly half of those present, also voted no on the plan favored by the Obama Treasury.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Discouraging Retirement Savings Is No Way to Reduce the Federal Deficit
Removing the tax preference for retirement plans in particular would do more harm than good.
CNN Money | States' latest problem: Too much money
The windfall is setting off new rounds of budget battles between state lawmakers and governors, who not long ago were slashing and burning their programs and services.
NY Times | Improved Tax Collections Can’t Keep Pace With States’ Fiscal Needs, Survey Finds
Although state tax collections are picking up after several brutal years, a new survey by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers found that states still expect to collect less tax revenue and spend less money in the coming fiscal year than they did before the Great Recession began.
Politico | John Boehner calls for debt deal in a month
House Speaker John Boehner said he doesn’t want to run up against an August deadline for boosting the nation’s debt limit — fearing that it could unnerve Wall Street — but he’s refusing to back away from his calls for major spending cuts in return for a debt deal with the White House.
Econ Comments
WSJ | In Praise of Debt Limit 'Chicken'
Yesterday 150 economists released a statement saying a higher debt ceiling should be tied to spending reform now.
Daily Caller | Limit debt before raising debt limit
Over the past two years, President Obama and Congressional Democrats have overseen the largest budget deficits in the history of the U.S.
WSJ | The Debt Limit Dance
Eighty-two Democrats, or nearly half of those present, also voted no on the plan favored by the Obama Treasury.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Discouraging Retirement Savings Is No Way to Reduce the Federal Deficit
Removing the tax preference for retirement plans in particular would do more harm than good.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
General Economics
News
Market Watch | U.S. consumer confidence declines in May
Consumer confidence fell in May as Americans grew slightly more pessimistic about future job prospects and business conditions, according to a closely followed survey.
Financial Times | EU warns US to speed up bank reform
The European Union's top financial regulater has warned the Obama administration that it must speed up and toughen its new banking rules in order to prevent American banks from having unfair advantages over their European counterparts.
Market Watch | China’s manufacturing growth slows further
China’s manufacturing activity expanded in May at its weakest pace in three quarters, as the economy faced headwinds of high inflation and government efforts to rein in prices, according to rival surveys of companies released Wednesday.
Bloomberg | Crude Oil Falls From Near Three-Week High After U.S. Employment Report
Oil declined from near the highest in three weeks on concern demand in the U.S. may falter following a report showing that U.S. companies added fewer jobs than forecast last month.
Politico | Economy shadows President Obama's 2012 campaign
A series of troubling signs for the U.S. economy threatens to dash hopes that 2011 would be a year of robust recover and that could prove troublesome for President Barack Obama's reelection chances.
Washington Times | Today’s airline fuel bills aren’t peanuts
Soaring oil prices now 35 percent of U.S. companies’ operating costs.
Econ Comments
National Journal | Geithner Defends Auto Bailout in Op-Ed
Two years after bankruptcy filing, Detroit's unemployment has fallen by one-third.
Washington Times | SHAPIRO: Pro-union policies stifle innovation, recovery
Obama labor agenda risks chasing employers away from the U.S.
Financial Times | Emerging economies are ready to lead
Emerging markets have vast experience in policy making that can benefit the global economy.
Source | The Keystone pipeline: A bridge to economics growth
The Keystone pipeline would secure vital resources form a trusted ally. It would also stimulate the economy, increase government revenue and create 13,000 high wage construction jobs over the next two years and 340,000 jobs over the next five years in manufacturing and service industries that would benefit form the pipeline's construction.
Source | Rein in rising gas prices
Skyrocketing gas prices are stretching the budgets of American families like never before. A new study shows that middle-class families are spending as much on gas as they are for health care and nearly as much as they are on groceries. In my home state of Michigan, gas prices hit a record high of $4.22 earlier this month — one of the highest in the nation
Washington Times | RAHN: Free markets flower as war memories fade
New nations of former Yugoslavia discover keys to economic stability.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Share of Population on Food Stamps Grows in Most States
The share of residents turning to food stamps has risen in nearly every state nationwide in the past year even as unemployment has moderated.
AEI: American | The Missing Link: Growth
As the budget fight unfolds, keep in mind this chart from Bret Swanson about the various levels of tax revenues from differing growth rates:
WSJ: MarketBeat | ISM’s Svengali-Like Hold on the Stock Market
The manufacturing sector is a small and shrinking gear in the US economic engine, and yet the ISM manufacturing index seems to have an outsized influence on the US stock market.
Daily Capitalist | Poor People Control 61% of World’s Wealth
In capitalistic countries wealth is created,not stolen. Entrepreneurs have an idea, have a relatively free political infrastructure, have access to capital,are willing to take risks,and create a business. They either crash and burn or succeed. If they succeed they create jobs and wealth. They also create wealth for the entrepreneur. Congratulations. Where else do jobs come from?
ThinkMarkets | Why Dodd-Frank is Dud-Blarney
It is a shame that Christopher Dodd did not become a lobbyist earlier, before he teamed up with Barney Frank to sponsor the Dodd-Frank Act. Mr. Dodd first helped set into motion a fast-expanding web of obscure bureaucratic dicta for almost all financial activity, then took a lucrative job as Hollywood lobbyist.
Econlog | Why do Depressions Occur?
I am well aware that the current economic slump includes more than just housing. Let us focus on just one example of an industry that is undergoing a severe contractionary adjustment: the legal industry. Many large firms have undertaken massive layoffs, and new law school graduates are having a horrible time finding jobs. How can we explain this?
Reports
NBER | This Time Is the Same: Using Bank Performance in 1998 to Explain Bank Performance During the Recent Financial Crisis
We investigate whether a bank’s performance during the 1998 crisis, which was viewed at the time as the most dramatic crisis since the Great Depression, predicts its performance during the recent financial crisis. One hypothesis is that a bank that has an especially poor experience in a crisis learns and adapts, so that it performs better in the next crisis.
Heritage Foundation | American Energy Freedom: The Basis for Economic Recovery
When studying American history, in particular times of rapid economic growth, one often finds that poets, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, speak of fuels that drive industrial revolutions. Such was the case in the mid-to-late 1800s in America. Then, as now, prosperity was directly linked to the efficient use of energy. The more energy-efficient a society became as a whole, the greater the wealth that each individual member of that society enjoyed.
Market Watch | U.S. consumer confidence declines in May
Consumer confidence fell in May as Americans grew slightly more pessimistic about future job prospects and business conditions, according to a closely followed survey.
Financial Times | EU warns US to speed up bank reform
The European Union's top financial regulater has warned the Obama administration that it must speed up and toughen its new banking rules in order to prevent American banks from having unfair advantages over their European counterparts.
Market Watch | China’s manufacturing growth slows further
China’s manufacturing activity expanded in May at its weakest pace in three quarters, as the economy faced headwinds of high inflation and government efforts to rein in prices, according to rival surveys of companies released Wednesday.
Bloomberg | Crude Oil Falls From Near Three-Week High After U.S. Employment Report
Oil declined from near the highest in three weeks on concern demand in the U.S. may falter following a report showing that U.S. companies added fewer jobs than forecast last month.
Politico | Economy shadows President Obama's 2012 campaign
A series of troubling signs for the U.S. economy threatens to dash hopes that 2011 would be a year of robust recover and that could prove troublesome for President Barack Obama's reelection chances.
Washington Times | Today’s airline fuel bills aren’t peanuts
Soaring oil prices now 35 percent of U.S. companies’ operating costs.
Econ Comments
National Journal | Geithner Defends Auto Bailout in Op-Ed
Two years after bankruptcy filing, Detroit's unemployment has fallen by one-third.
Washington Times | SHAPIRO: Pro-union policies stifle innovation, recovery
Obama labor agenda risks chasing employers away from the U.S.
Financial Times | Emerging economies are ready to lead
Emerging markets have vast experience in policy making that can benefit the global economy.
Source | The Keystone pipeline: A bridge to economics growth
The Keystone pipeline would secure vital resources form a trusted ally. It would also stimulate the economy, increase government revenue and create 13,000 high wage construction jobs over the next two years and 340,000 jobs over the next five years in manufacturing and service industries that would benefit form the pipeline's construction.
Source | Rein in rising gas prices
Skyrocketing gas prices are stretching the budgets of American families like never before. A new study shows that middle-class families are spending as much on gas as they are for health care and nearly as much as they are on groceries. In my home state of Michigan, gas prices hit a record high of $4.22 earlier this month — one of the highest in the nation
Washington Times | RAHN: Free markets flower as war memories fade
New nations of former Yugoslavia discover keys to economic stability.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Share of Population on Food Stamps Grows in Most States
The share of residents turning to food stamps has risen in nearly every state nationwide in the past year even as unemployment has moderated.
AEI: American | The Missing Link: Growth
As the budget fight unfolds, keep in mind this chart from Bret Swanson about the various levels of tax revenues from differing growth rates:
WSJ: MarketBeat | ISM’s Svengali-Like Hold on the Stock Market
The manufacturing sector is a small and shrinking gear in the US economic engine, and yet the ISM manufacturing index seems to have an outsized influence on the US stock market.
Daily Capitalist | Poor People Control 61% of World’s Wealth
In capitalistic countries wealth is created,not stolen. Entrepreneurs have an idea, have a relatively free political infrastructure, have access to capital,are willing to take risks,and create a business. They either crash and burn or succeed. If they succeed they create jobs and wealth. They also create wealth for the entrepreneur. Congratulations. Where else do jobs come from?
ThinkMarkets | Why Dodd-Frank is Dud-Blarney
It is a shame that Christopher Dodd did not become a lobbyist earlier, before he teamed up with Barney Frank to sponsor the Dodd-Frank Act. Mr. Dodd first helped set into motion a fast-expanding web of obscure bureaucratic dicta for almost all financial activity, then took a lucrative job as Hollywood lobbyist.
Econlog | Why do Depressions Occur?
I am well aware that the current economic slump includes more than just housing. Let us focus on just one example of an industry that is undergoing a severe contractionary adjustment: the legal industry. Many large firms have undertaken massive layoffs, and new law school graduates are having a horrible time finding jobs. How can we explain this?
Reports
NBER | This Time Is the Same: Using Bank Performance in 1998 to Explain Bank Performance During the Recent Financial Crisis
We investigate whether a bank’s performance during the 1998 crisis, which was viewed at the time as the most dramatic crisis since the Great Depression, predicts its performance during the recent financial crisis. One hypothesis is that a bank that has an especially poor experience in a crisis learns and adapts, so that it performs better in the next crisis.
Heritage Foundation | American Energy Freedom: The Basis for Economic Recovery
When studying American history, in particular times of rapid economic growth, one often finds that poets, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, speak of fuels that drive industrial revolutions. Such was the case in the mid-to-late 1800s in America. Then, as now, prosperity was directly linked to the efficient use of energy. The more energy-efficient a society became as a whole, the greater the wealth that each individual member of that society enjoyed.
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