THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012 ECONOMICS: Treasury Faulted in Effort to Relieve Homeowners http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/business/economy/treasury-department-faulted-in-effort-to-relieve-homeowners.html A fund to support homeowners in the communities hit hardest by the collapse of the housing bubble has disbursed just 3 percent of its budget and aided only 30,640 homeowners in the two years since its creation, according to a report … Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2012
Open Letter to Álvaro Uribe
Mr. Uribe, first and foremost I must respectfully express my gratitude for what you and your policies have done for my country of birth. Once on the verge of being deemed a “failed state,” Colombia is now a safer and more prosperous country. Your Democratic Security initiative and other policies laid the groundwork for Colombian … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012 ECONOMICS: Obama Goes on Offensive Over Taxes on Wealthy http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/us/politics/obama-to-make-case-for-buffett-rule.html All but certain now that his Republican opponent will be Mitt Romney, President Obama has made his proposed “Buffett Rule” minimum tax for the wealthiest Americans like Mr. Romney a centerpiece of his re-election campaign, defying the political risk of … Continue reading
A Lesson for Future Mexican Presidential Candidates
Last week I stood by my earlier prediction that the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) will return to the Mexican Presidency in July’s election, which I believe will be won by Enrique Peña Nieto. This Monday, the Parametria firm published a poll indicating that Peña Nieto has an 18-point lead over the incumbent National Action Party’s … Continue reading
DeMarco Hints at Principal Reduction Decision
The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today that with additional incentives, funded through TARP, a program of principal forgiveness through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSE), might now make more sense. While making no official announcement, FHFA Director Edward DeMarco said that the additional funds would make such … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
TUESDAY, ARPIL 10, 2012 ECONOMICS: White House highlights tax fairness ahead of Obama speech http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/us-usa-campaign-obama-buffett-idUSBRE8390CZ20120410 Taxes for America’s highest earners have fallen sharply since 1995, according to a White House report on Tuesday, released ahead of a speech by President Barack Obama on fairness in the tax code that is a key part of … Continue reading
Formal Criminal Alliances Pose a Major Security Threat to the Americas
A recent report from Guatemalan authorities focuses on a formal alliance between two major criminal entities: the Mexican Zetas cartel and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) street gang that operates throughout Central and North America. Informal and temporary alliances are often formed between criminal groups, but this is the first report of a formal alliance. Such … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 ECONOMICS: Federal Funds to Train the Jobless Are Drying Up http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/business/economy/federal-funds-to-train-jobless-are-drying-up.html With the economy slowly reviving, an executive from Atlas Van Lines recently visited Louisville, Ky., with good news: the company wanted to hire more than 100 truck drivers ahead of the summer moving season. But a usually reliable source … Continue reading
BLS Reports Slower Job Growth Last Month
Payroll employment rose by 120,000 jobs in March with the unemployment rate falling slightly to 8.2 percent, according to the report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Growth is always good news, but a look behind the numbers shows that this kind of growth is mediocre at best. Despite the slight increase in … Continue reading
Damaging Effects of Denying Expansion
The Keystone XL pipeline could have provided Americans more economic, energy, and job security. However, in January 2012, President Obama announced he would not permit TransCanada to build a $7 billion pipeline from Alberta, Canada across international borders to the US Gulf Coast. Since then, Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has turned to China to … Continue reading
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