News
Market Watch | Second-quarter GDP revised up to show 1.3% growth
The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than previously thought in the second quarter of 2011, led by a pickup in consumer and construction spending.
National Journal | Can Policymakers 'Fix' the Banking System and Foster Economic Growth?
Policymakers at once want banks to help promote economic recovery by financing business and consumer loans, while also fixing their underlying problems, like overleveraging and poor underwriting that helped fuel the financial bust the country cannot seem to crawl out of.
WSJ | Mortgage Aid Effort Falls Short of Its Goal
A federal initiative that gives bridge loans to homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments will likely pay out less than half the $1 billion that Congress allotted for the program, the most recent example of such an effort falling short of goals.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
CNN: Money | Trade deals held up by Washington gridlock
The White House wants the Trade Adjustment Assistance program passed before sending over the trade deals.
Blogs
Econlog | What Got Us Out of the Great Depression?
But boosting aggregate demand did not end the Great Depression. After the initial stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent economic plunge, a recovery began in the summer of 1932, well before the New Deal.
Daily Capitalist | Shadow Inventory: Will Continue To Depress Housing Market
CoreLogic reported that its measure of shadow housing inventory, the number of 90+ day delinquencies, foreclosures and REOs, was down, but only very slightly:
Econlog | More on the Myth of the Macroeconomy
A macroeconomist would argue that structural unemployment always exists. It represents a sort of background noise.
NRO: The Corner | Inspiring Stories of Entrepreuneurship
I wish that of more of these success stories were made public so people would understand that, yes, there are very rich people in America, but most of them made their fortunes through hard-work and their fortunes have benefited all of us.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Departing Hoenig Paints Grim Picture of Long-Term Growth.
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on Wednesday said he expects the long-term rate of growth for U.S. gross domestic product to trail the average for the past 25 years.
Heritage Foundation | Look Before You Regulate: Measuring the Costs of Financial Rules
You would think that any regulation that could affect a major part of the economy and cost industry and/or consumers millions of dollars to comply with would be based on rigorous and consistent economic analysis.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo | Durable Goods Orders Continue To Defy Gravity
Durable goods orders for August came in better than expected, slipping only 0.1 percent from the month before. Civilian aircraft orders were once again a big contributor to durable orders.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Health Care
News
National Journal | New HHS Program Pays Primary-Care Doctors Higher Rates
The plan, which will be tested in five markets next year, would pay those doctors an extra $20 a month per Medicare patient to help them invest in such items as electronic health records, extra nurses, or social workers to keep their patients healthier.
WSJ | Health Overhaul Heads to Justices
The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to decide the fate of its health-care overhaul, setting the stage for arguments at the high court and a probable ruling in the thick of the 2012 presidential campaign.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | HOAGLAND: No economic recovery with Obamacare
Small businesses can’t grow while federal mandate threatens.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) Outlines a New Paradigm for Health Care Reform
Ryan pointed out that rising health care costs not only make insurance unaffordable for many Americans; they are also a main driver of growing federal deficits.
Heritage Foundation | Health Insurance Continues Unaffordable Trend After Obamacare
The Kaiser survey shows that the average annual premium for a family in 2011 is 31 percent higher than it was in 2006, and 113 percent higher than in 2001. This year marks the first year that the cost of family coverage will exceed $15,000.
National Journal | New HHS Program Pays Primary-Care Doctors Higher Rates
The plan, which will be tested in five markets next year, would pay those doctors an extra $20 a month per Medicare patient to help them invest in such items as electronic health records, extra nurses, or social workers to keep their patients healthier.
WSJ | Health Overhaul Heads to Justices
The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to decide the fate of its health-care overhaul, setting the stage for arguments at the high court and a probable ruling in the thick of the 2012 presidential campaign.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | HOAGLAND: No economic recovery with Obamacare
Small businesses can’t grow while federal mandate threatens.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) Outlines a New Paradigm for Health Care Reform
Ryan pointed out that rising health care costs not only make insurance unaffordable for many Americans; they are also a main driver of growing federal deficits.
Heritage Foundation | Health Insurance Continues Unaffordable Trend After Obamacare
The Kaiser survey shows that the average annual premium for a family in 2011 is 31 percent higher than it was in 2006, and 113 percent higher than in 2001. This year marks the first year that the cost of family coverage will exceed $15,000.
Monetary
News
National Journal | Fed Officials Explain 'Operation Twist' Decision
Federal Reserve officials are making the rounds this week to discuss the Fed’s latest effort to boost the economy. The divided central bank announced two new measures last Wednesday: “Operation Twist” and a new decision on reinvesting the proceeds of its portfolio.
Econ Comments
Investors.com | A Frank 'Cure' For The Fed
If two people always agree," says Ben Bernanke, "one of them is redundant." So, imagine what the Federal Reserve chairman thinks of Rep. Barney Frank's legislation designed to dampen dissent within the Fed.
WSJ | Last Chance to Save the Euro
A Greek default won't destroy Europe's currency. Bailouts will.
WSJ | Politicians Are Threatening the Fed's Independence
Stripping the regional bank presidents of their votes would make the system a weak creature of Washington.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economcis | Fed’s Plosser: Recent Stimulus Undermines Credibility
The Federal Reserve‘s recent bids to provide more economic stimulus are futile and ultimately make future policymaking more difficult.
National Journal | Fed Officials Explain 'Operation Twist' Decision
Federal Reserve officials are making the rounds this week to discuss the Fed’s latest effort to boost the economy. The divided central bank announced two new measures last Wednesday: “Operation Twist” and a new decision on reinvesting the proceeds of its portfolio.
Econ Comments
Investors.com | A Frank 'Cure' For The Fed
If two people always agree," says Ben Bernanke, "one of them is redundant." So, imagine what the Federal Reserve chairman thinks of Rep. Barney Frank's legislation designed to dampen dissent within the Fed.
WSJ | Last Chance to Save the Euro
A Greek default won't destroy Europe's currency. Bailouts will.
WSJ | Politicians Are Threatening the Fed's Independence
Stripping the regional bank presidents of their votes would make the system a weak creature of Washington.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economcis | Fed’s Plosser: Recent Stimulus Undermines Credibility
The Federal Reserve‘s recent bids to provide more economic stimulus are futile and ultimately make future policymaking more difficult.
Employment
News
Bloomberg | Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop More Than Forecast
Applications for jobless benefits dropped by 37,000 in the week ended Sept. 24 to 391,000, the fewest since April, Labor Department figures showed today.
Bloomberg | Ford to Add 7,000 U.S. Jobs in Next Two Years
Ford is discussing adding as many as 10,000 jobs in the U.S. in negotiations with the United Auto Workers union on a new four-year contract, according to three people familiar with the talks.
Econ Comments
Daily Caller | Karl Marx on Obama’s jobs plan
Marx condemned the new French emperor’s efforts to placate the unemployed by expanding government jobs.
CNN Money | How to create jobs
Of the 24 economists surveyed by CNNMoney, 16 believe Congress should take some kind of stimulative action to create jobs. But there's little consensus on just what that should be.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Unemployment Insurance System Fosters Unemployment
Keynesian economists keep telling us that unemployment benefits have a stimulative “multiplier effect” on the economy. Unfortunately, that sticky little problem of the government having to suck resources out of the economy to pay for this alleged stimulus keeps getting in the way...
Bloomberg | Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop More Than Forecast
Applications for jobless benefits dropped by 37,000 in the week ended Sept. 24 to 391,000, the fewest since April, Labor Department figures showed today.
Bloomberg | Ford to Add 7,000 U.S. Jobs in Next Two Years
Ford is discussing adding as many as 10,000 jobs in the U.S. in negotiations with the United Auto Workers union on a new four-year contract, according to three people familiar with the talks.
Econ Comments
Daily Caller | Karl Marx on Obama’s jobs plan
Marx condemned the new French emperor’s efforts to placate the unemployed by expanding government jobs.
CNN Money | How to create jobs
Of the 24 economists surveyed by CNNMoney, 16 believe Congress should take some kind of stimulative action to create jobs. But there's little consensus on just what that should be.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Unemployment Insurance System Fosters Unemployment
Keynesian economists keep telling us that unemployment benefits have a stimulative “multiplier effect” on the economy. Unfortunately, that sticky little problem of the government having to suck resources out of the economy to pay for this alleged stimulus keeps getting in the way...
Budget
News
National Journal | House Expected to Accept Short CR, Drama Free
...Appropriations Committee member John Culberson, R-Texas, will take to the House floor shortly after its pro forma session begins at 11 a.m. He will then seek unanimous consent to pass the Senate’s “bridge” CR.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Hey, big spender
When it comes to budget cuts, Congress is just a tease.
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
National Journal | House Expected to Accept Short CR, Drama Free
...Appropriations Committee member John Culberson, R-Texas, will take to the House floor shortly after its pro forma session begins at 11 a.m. He will then seek unanimous consent to pass the Senate’s “bridge” CR.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Hey, big spender
When it comes to budget cuts, Congress is just a tease.
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
General Economics
News
WSJ | For Some Companies, No Interest In Interest
A little-noticed provision of last year's financial-overhaul law gave companies something they had long wanted: a way to earn interest on large balances held in bank checking accounts.
Market Watch | U.S. durable-goods orders dip in August
Orders for U.S. durable goods fell slightly in August as demand shrank for motor vehicles and certain large defense goods, the government reported Wednesday.
CNN: Money | Financially-strapped cities cut jobs, services
One of the main factors contributing to the decline in revenue is a drop in property tax collections, which are projected to fall by 3.7% in 2011, the second straight year of declines. Last year's drop of 2.0% was the first year-over-year decline in city property tax revenues in 15 years.
National Journal | The Economic Impact of a Near-Shutdown
Some experts say budget brinkmanship will stir less fear as it grows more routine and yields long-term improvements.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | STEARNS: Sunstein’s dull red-tape shears
Czar’s regulatory pullback allows too much new regulation.
Bloomberg | Five Prescriptions to Heal Economy’s Ills: Laurence Kotlikoff
Desperate times call for creative measures. We’re in desperate times, but we’ve had little creative thinking from the Obama administration on how to fix the economy.
Washington Times | GRISWOLD: Yes to free trade, no to TAA ‘stimulus’
With federal debt piling up by the trillions and the “recovery” stuck in neutral, policymakers in Washington should focus on two overriding objectives: to shrink the public sector and grow the private sector. Trade legislation working its way through Congress offers an opportunity to advance both goals.
Forbes | Social Security is Much Worse Than a Ponzi Scheme
The facts about Social Security are these. Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme, thus criminally fraudulent (as I’ll explain), but even worse, because it coerces us to be a part of it. Since the scheme began in 1935 the full force of the U.S. government has compelled a growing portion of citizens to suffer by it, such that we all do so by now.
Washington Times | DEMINT: Venture socialism
Obama agenda is about shoveling cash to cronies.
WSJ | The Real Solyndra Scandal
Solar technology has a market niche. It doesn't need subsidies.
AEI | HED: A Tale of Two Economies
It's useful to think of the American economy not as a single entity, but as multiple economies operating at differing levels of dynamism and efficiency.
Blogs
Political Calculations | The Aggregate Distribution of U.S. Household Income in 2010
Here, we clearly see that most of the aggregate income earned by U.S. households in 2010 is to be found between the median household income figure of $49,455 and the mean household income figure of $67,530, which would put you in the neighborhood where Americans households collectively earn well over 50 billion dollars per year.
Atlantic: Megan McArdle | How Much Did GDP Numbers Matter?
The Bureau of Economic Analysis clearly vastly underestimated the depth of the contraction that we experienced during the financial crisis.
Daily Capitalist | Case-Shiller Home Price Index Continues Downward
The truth is more in line with what Bloomberg said and that is that home prices are still falling, the current gains are technical results from the foreclosure problems that lenders have, and that foreclosures will resume and increase shortly and the market will continue to be depressed.
Reports
AEI | The Eurozone Crisis and the US Economy: What Has Gone Wrong?
Recent US stimulus efforts have failed to boost the economy, and this pattern is likely to continue with future proposed stimulus plans.
NBER | Country Size, International Trade, and Aggregate Fluctuations in Granular Economies
We study a multi-country, multi-sector model with heterogeneous firms that are subject to idiosyncratic firm-specific shocks. When the distribution of firm sizes follows a power law with an exponent close to -1, the idiosyncratic shocks to large firms have an impact on aggregate output volatility.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Consumer Confidence Is Still Missing in Action
Consumer confidence was essentially unchanged in September as worries about job availability increased and expectations for income gains deteriorated. Buying plans also took a nasty tumble.
WSJ | For Some Companies, No Interest In Interest
A little-noticed provision of last year's financial-overhaul law gave companies something they had long wanted: a way to earn interest on large balances held in bank checking accounts.
Market Watch | U.S. durable-goods orders dip in August
Orders for U.S. durable goods fell slightly in August as demand shrank for motor vehicles and certain large defense goods, the government reported Wednesday.
CNN: Money | Financially-strapped cities cut jobs, services
One of the main factors contributing to the decline in revenue is a drop in property tax collections, which are projected to fall by 3.7% in 2011, the second straight year of declines. Last year's drop of 2.0% was the first year-over-year decline in city property tax revenues in 15 years.
National Journal | The Economic Impact of a Near-Shutdown
Some experts say budget brinkmanship will stir less fear as it grows more routine and yields long-term improvements.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | STEARNS: Sunstein’s dull red-tape shears
Czar’s regulatory pullback allows too much new regulation.
Bloomberg | Five Prescriptions to Heal Economy’s Ills: Laurence Kotlikoff
Desperate times call for creative measures. We’re in desperate times, but we’ve had little creative thinking from the Obama administration on how to fix the economy.
Washington Times | GRISWOLD: Yes to free trade, no to TAA ‘stimulus’
With federal debt piling up by the trillions and the “recovery” stuck in neutral, policymakers in Washington should focus on two overriding objectives: to shrink the public sector and grow the private sector. Trade legislation working its way through Congress offers an opportunity to advance both goals.
Forbes | Social Security is Much Worse Than a Ponzi Scheme
The facts about Social Security are these. Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme, thus criminally fraudulent (as I’ll explain), but even worse, because it coerces us to be a part of it. Since the scheme began in 1935 the full force of the U.S. government has compelled a growing portion of citizens to suffer by it, such that we all do so by now.
Washington Times | DEMINT: Venture socialism
Obama agenda is about shoveling cash to cronies.
WSJ | The Real Solyndra Scandal
Solar technology has a market niche. It doesn't need subsidies.
AEI | HED: A Tale of Two Economies
It's useful to think of the American economy not as a single entity, but as multiple economies operating at differing levels of dynamism and efficiency.
Blogs
Political Calculations | The Aggregate Distribution of U.S. Household Income in 2010
Here, we clearly see that most of the aggregate income earned by U.S. households in 2010 is to be found between the median household income figure of $49,455 and the mean household income figure of $67,530, which would put you in the neighborhood where Americans households collectively earn well over 50 billion dollars per year.
Atlantic: Megan McArdle | How Much Did GDP Numbers Matter?
The Bureau of Economic Analysis clearly vastly underestimated the depth of the contraction that we experienced during the financial crisis.
Daily Capitalist | Case-Shiller Home Price Index Continues Downward
The truth is more in line with what Bloomberg said and that is that home prices are still falling, the current gains are technical results from the foreclosure problems that lenders have, and that foreclosures will resume and increase shortly and the market will continue to be depressed.
Reports
AEI | The Eurozone Crisis and the US Economy: What Has Gone Wrong?
Recent US stimulus efforts have failed to boost the economy, and this pattern is likely to continue with future proposed stimulus plans.
NBER | Country Size, International Trade, and Aggregate Fluctuations in Granular Economies
We study a multi-country, multi-sector model with heterogeneous firms that are subject to idiosyncratic firm-specific shocks. When the distribution of firm sizes follows a power law with an exponent close to -1, the idiosyncratic shocks to large firms have an impact on aggregate output volatility.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Consumer Confidence Is Still Missing in Action
Consumer confidence was essentially unchanged in September as worries about job availability increased and expectations for income gains deteriorated. Buying plans also took a nasty tumble.
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