Econ Comments & Analysis
Mercatus Center | Federal Cybersecurity Breaches Mount Despite Increased Spending
n the wake of the high-profile cybersecurity breach at Sony Pictures Entertainment in December, President Obama unveiled reform proposals that would increase the federal government’s ability to direct American cybersecurity practices. These proposals, which include increased federal funding, a cybersecurity summit, and legislative changes to encourage information-sharing among private sector organizations and government bodies, are only the most recent efforts in a long line of government attempts to nationalize and influence private cybersecurity practices. Despite years of increased cybersecurity spending, the federal government already has a poor track record in maintaining good cybersecurity and information-sharing practices for its own information technology (IT) systems.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
General Economics
News
Wall Street Journal | Views of Economy Brighten, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds
An upswing in the U.S. economy has contributed to a surge in economic optimism but provided no similar improvement in the standing of the nation’s political leaders, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.
Wall Street Journal | China Economic Growth Is Slowest in Decades
China’s economic growth slowed to 7.4% in 2014, downshifting to a level not seen in a quarter century and firmly marking the end of a high-growth heyday that buoyed global demand for everything from iron ore to designer handbags.
Wall Street Journal | President, Republicans Aim to Forge Trade Deals
Improved economic and political winds look set to give President Barack Obama a new opening to complete at least one sweeping trade deal, despite reservations within his own party.
Market Watch | MF cuts global economic-growth outlook
Sliding oil prices will give global growth a brief jolt, but the benefits won’t be strong enough to keep the world economy out of a deepening long-term rut, the International Monetary Fund said.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | The Window Is Closing on a Trans-Atlantic Trade Deal
Urgency and trade negotiations are seldom mentioned in the same breath, but the window of opportunity to sign the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is closing fast. In less than a year, the chance to agree on a comprehensive and ambitious free-trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. may be gone, and the U.K., Europe and America will be the poorer for it.
Forbes | Four Charts To Keep In Mind Before The State Of The Union
On Tuesday, President Obama will give his State of the Union address. He is widely expected to introduce new policies, such as free community college and higher taxes, and to celebrate recent improvements in the economy.
Blogs
Wall Street Journal | The State of the Economy, in Eight Charts
When President Barack Obama delivers his annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday, the economy will be as strong and bright as it has been in years.
Wall Street Journal | Views of Economy Brighten, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds
An upswing in the U.S. economy has contributed to a surge in economic optimism but provided no similar improvement in the standing of the nation’s political leaders, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.
Wall Street Journal | China Economic Growth Is Slowest in Decades
China’s economic growth slowed to 7.4% in 2014, downshifting to a level not seen in a quarter century and firmly marking the end of a high-growth heyday that buoyed global demand for everything from iron ore to designer handbags.
Wall Street Journal | President, Republicans Aim to Forge Trade Deals
Improved economic and political winds look set to give President Barack Obama a new opening to complete at least one sweeping trade deal, despite reservations within his own party.
Market Watch | MF cuts global economic-growth outlook
Sliding oil prices will give global growth a brief jolt, but the benefits won’t be strong enough to keep the world economy out of a deepening long-term rut, the International Monetary Fund said.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | The Window Is Closing on a Trans-Atlantic Trade Deal
Urgency and trade negotiations are seldom mentioned in the same breath, but the window of opportunity to sign the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is closing fast. In less than a year, the chance to agree on a comprehensive and ambitious free-trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. may be gone, and the U.K., Europe and America will be the poorer for it.
Forbes | Four Charts To Keep In Mind Before The State Of The Union
On Tuesday, President Obama will give his State of the Union address. He is widely expected to introduce new policies, such as free community college and higher taxes, and to celebrate recent improvements in the economy.
Blogs
Wall Street Journal | The State of the Economy, in Eight Charts
When President Barack Obama delivers his annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday, the economy will be as strong and bright as it has been in years.
Monetary
News
Market Watch | Fed officials are on track for 2015 rate hike
Federal Reserve officials are on track to start raising short-term interest rates later this year, even though long-term rates are going in the other direction amid new investor worries about weak global growth, falling oil prices and slowing consumer price inflation.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | Fed Officials on Track to Raise Short-Term Rates Later in the Year
Federal Reserve officials are staying on track to start raising short-term interest rates later this year, even though long-term rates are going in the other direction amid new investor worries about weak global growth, falling oil prices and slowing consumer price inflation.
Market Watch | Fed officials are on track for 2015 rate hike
Federal Reserve officials are on track to start raising short-term interest rates later this year, even though long-term rates are going in the other direction amid new investor worries about weak global growth, falling oil prices and slowing consumer price inflation.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | Fed Officials on Track to Raise Short-Term Rates Later in the Year
Federal Reserve officials are staying on track to start raising short-term interest rates later this year, even though long-term rates are going in the other direction amid new investor worries about weak global growth, falling oil prices and slowing consumer price inflation.
Taxes
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | Tax Reform Should Go Right Down Main Street
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama will add steep increases in capital-gains and death taxes to his wish list of reforms designed to help the “middle class.” In reality, however, such steps would hurt the middle class by increasing the already heavy tax burden of many employers.
Market Watch | Obama’s tax plan is like ‘Piketty with an American accent’
The tax plan to be laid out at the State of the Union sounds like it may have been authored by a notable French economist.
Forbes | A Glimmer Of SOTU Compromise? Expanding The Earned Income Tax Credit
Republicans will grimace as President Obama unveils his massive tax hikes in tomorrow’s State of the Union address, however, one policy will receive bi-partisan applause: expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
Forbes | Obama's Bank Tax Is A Great Idea It Just Needs A Little Change
Obviously it didn’t take long for the banking industry to start complaining about the new tax that President Obama has suggested upon the liabilities of the largest banks.
Wall Street Journal | Tax Reform Should Go Right Down Main Street
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama will add steep increases in capital-gains and death taxes to his wish list of reforms designed to help the “middle class.” In reality, however, such steps would hurt the middle class by increasing the already heavy tax burden of many employers.
Market Watch | Obama’s tax plan is like ‘Piketty with an American accent’
The tax plan to be laid out at the State of the Union sounds like it may have been authored by a notable French economist.
Forbes | A Glimmer Of SOTU Compromise? Expanding The Earned Income Tax Credit
Republicans will grimace as President Obama unveils his massive tax hikes in tomorrow’s State of the Union address, however, one policy will receive bi-partisan applause: expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
Forbes | Obama's Bank Tax Is A Great Idea It Just Needs A Little Change
Obviously it didn’t take long for the banking industry to start complaining about the new tax that President Obama has suggested upon the liabilities of the largest banks.
Budget
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | To Reduce Our Federal Debt Risk, Let's Issue Equity
The problem with the federal debt is not only its size but when it needs to be refinanced. A shade less than 70% of the $16 trillion of outstanding federal debt matures in 5 years or less. A 2% rise in rates would, very quickly, almost double Treasury's interest costs.
Daily Signal | We’ve Been Calculating Budget Scores for Legislation Like Obamacare All Wrong
There is hubris in every government project. The unspoken idea behind bills as comprehensive as the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank is that legislators can understand how a system works, tinker with it and improve it.
Blogs
Wall Street Journal | Obama May Highlight Shrinking Budget Deficits, But They Mask Mounting Debt
The markedly improved outlook, likely to get a nod in the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, has helped shift the budget debate in Washington away from grand fiscal plans and debt ceiling showdowns to discussions about process and other priorities. But overall debt continues to grow, and the federal government still faces an array of long-term challenges, including rising costs related to an aging population.
Real Clear Markets | To Reduce Our Federal Debt Risk, Let's Issue Equity
The problem with the federal debt is not only its size but when it needs to be refinanced. A shade less than 70% of the $16 trillion of outstanding federal debt matures in 5 years or less. A 2% rise in rates would, very quickly, almost double Treasury's interest costs.
Daily Signal | We’ve Been Calculating Budget Scores for Legislation Like Obamacare All Wrong
There is hubris in every government project. The unspoken idea behind bills as comprehensive as the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank is that legislators can understand how a system works, tinker with it and improve it.
Blogs
Wall Street Journal | Obama May Highlight Shrinking Budget Deficits, But They Mask Mounting Debt
The markedly improved outlook, likely to get a nod in the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, has helped shift the budget debate in Washington away from grand fiscal plans and debt ceiling showdowns to discussions about process and other priorities. But overall debt continues to grow, and the federal government still faces an array of long-term challenges, including rising costs related to an aging population.
Friday, January 16, 2015
General Economics
News
CNN Money | Most Americans feel they are falling behind
Some 55% say they are falling behind, according to a new Pew Research Center study. That's the case even though most of those polled feel the economy is recovering.
Market Watch | Industrial production slips 0.1% in December as utilities output slides
Industrial production declined 0.1% in December, marking the first drop since August, after unusually warm weather quelled demand for heating, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
Market Watch | Consumer prices see biggest monthly slide in six years on falling gas
Consumer inflation in December saw the biggest monthly drop in six years as gasoline prices tumbled, according to government data released Friday.
Market Watch | Here’s what saw the biggest deflation in 2014
Consumer prices saw the smallest annual gain since 2008 — just 0.8% — and some items got significantly cheaper.
Market Watch | Here’s what saw the most inflation in 2014
Consumer prices saw the smallest annual gain since 2008 — just 0.8% — but that doesn’t mean all items sank in price.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | WSJ Survey: Economists See 2015 GDP Growth at 3%
Falling oil prices will be a boon to the domestic economy at least through the first half of the year, but the price drop also means the U.S. will flirt briefly with deflation, according to The Wall Street Journal’s latest survey of economic forecasters.
Wall Street Journal | How Spending Sapped the Global Recovery
As the world’s elites gather in Davos next week, expect more big names to join the chorus calling for increased government spending to enliven the flailing global recovery. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are among the voices urging European leaders to spend more. The International Monetary Fund and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers —who wrote in the Financial Times in October that “there is for once a free lunch”—have even been arguing that government borrowing to build roads or airports would more than pay for itself. If only governments in the developed world would start spending more, this refrain goes, the global economy’s future would be brighter.
Wall Street Journal | Biggest Banks Lag Behind as Economy Gains Steam
More than five years into the economic recovery, the nation’s biggest banks are still on the outside looking in, as their fortunes grow increasingly disconnected from the rest of the country’s.
Blogs
AEI | Why the world economy may face a permanent slump
The math is the math. Global population growth is slowing and so is the working-age population. Employment will grow by just 0.3% annually during the next 50 years, forecasts a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute. And if even if productivity growth matches the rapid rate of the past half century, “the rate of increase in global GDP growth will therefore still fall by 40%, to about 2.1 percent a year.”
AEI | As oil and gas prices tumble, it’s a good time to reflect on the marvels of the market and Julian Simon
At today’s price of $2.09 per gallon, gasoline prices in the US are the lowest in history, adjusting for increased fuel economy and higher wages as the chart above illustrates. At today’s average fuel economy of 25.1 miles per gallon, a typical car would require just under four gallons of gas, which would cost $8.32 at today’s price of $2.09. At the estimated average hourly wage today of $20.82, a typical worker would have to work for 24 minutes to earn enough pre-tax income to purchase the gas required to drive 100 miles, and that brings the “time cost of gas” priced in minutes of work to the lowest level in US history.
CNN Money | Most Americans feel they are falling behind
Some 55% say they are falling behind, according to a new Pew Research Center study. That's the case even though most of those polled feel the economy is recovering.
Market Watch | Industrial production slips 0.1% in December as utilities output slides
Industrial production declined 0.1% in December, marking the first drop since August, after unusually warm weather quelled demand for heating, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
Market Watch | Consumer prices see biggest monthly slide in six years on falling gas
Consumer inflation in December saw the biggest monthly drop in six years as gasoline prices tumbled, according to government data released Friday.
Market Watch | Here’s what saw the biggest deflation in 2014
Consumer prices saw the smallest annual gain since 2008 — just 0.8% — and some items got significantly cheaper.
Market Watch | Here’s what saw the most inflation in 2014
Consumer prices saw the smallest annual gain since 2008 — just 0.8% — but that doesn’t mean all items sank in price.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Wall Street Journal | WSJ Survey: Economists See 2015 GDP Growth at 3%
Falling oil prices will be a boon to the domestic economy at least through the first half of the year, but the price drop also means the U.S. will flirt briefly with deflation, according to The Wall Street Journal’s latest survey of economic forecasters.
Wall Street Journal | How Spending Sapped the Global Recovery
As the world’s elites gather in Davos next week, expect more big names to join the chorus calling for increased government spending to enliven the flailing global recovery. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are among the voices urging European leaders to spend more. The International Monetary Fund and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers —who wrote in the Financial Times in October that “there is for once a free lunch”—have even been arguing that government borrowing to build roads or airports would more than pay for itself. If only governments in the developed world would start spending more, this refrain goes, the global economy’s future would be brighter.
Wall Street Journal | Biggest Banks Lag Behind as Economy Gains Steam
More than five years into the economic recovery, the nation’s biggest banks are still on the outside looking in, as their fortunes grow increasingly disconnected from the rest of the country’s.
Blogs
AEI | Why the world economy may face a permanent slump
The math is the math. Global population growth is slowing and so is the working-age population. Employment will grow by just 0.3% annually during the next 50 years, forecasts a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute. And if even if productivity growth matches the rapid rate of the past half century, “the rate of increase in global GDP growth will therefore still fall by 40%, to about 2.1 percent a year.”
AEI | As oil and gas prices tumble, it’s a good time to reflect on the marvels of the market and Julian Simon
At today’s price of $2.09 per gallon, gasoline prices in the US are the lowest in history, adjusting for increased fuel economy and higher wages as the chart above illustrates. At today’s average fuel economy of 25.1 miles per gallon, a typical car would require just under four gallons of gas, which would cost $8.32 at today’s price of $2.09. At the estimated average hourly wage today of $20.82, a typical worker would have to work for 24 minutes to earn enough pre-tax income to purchase the gas required to drive 100 miles, and that brings the “time cost of gas” priced in minutes of work to the lowest level in US history.
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