MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2012   ECONOMICS: Fed Takes a Break to Weigh Outlook http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204276304577261462731503918.html The Federal Reserve is pausing after a six-month campaign to boost growth, while policy makers assess a puzzling economic outlook. Fed officials meeting next week are unlikely to take any new actions to spur the recovery, and they are likely to … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2012   ECONOMICS: American earning more, but spending still in question http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/americans-earning-more-but-spending-still-in-question/2012/03/01/gIQAtxLXlR_story.html Americans are earning more money amid the strengthening job market, but economists say the arc of the recovery largely hinges on what consumers do with the extra cash. Government data released Thursday showed wages and salaries rose 0.4 percent in … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012 ECONOMICS: OPINION: Republicans and Fiscal Responsibility (Simon Johnson) http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/republicans-and-fiscal-responsibility/ The United States has a great deal of public debt outstanding – and a future trajectory that is sobering (see this recent presentation by Doug Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office). Yet the four remaining contenders for the Republican nomination are competing … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012   ECONOMICS: Housing prices fell in December, continue to hurt economic recovery http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/housing-prices-fell-in-december-continue-to-hurt-economic-recovery/2012/02/28/gIQAwnK3gR_story.html The nation’s home prices have fallen to their lowest level since 2002, according to a private report, casting a troubling shadow over what has otherwise been a brightening economic recovery. Although analysts have been nervously eyeing rising oil … Continue reading →

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012   ECONOMICS: Tax experts think deal could be done on corporate code overhaul this year http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/212911-tax-experts-think-deal-could-be-done-on-corporate-code Despite what appear to be long odds, a handful of Washington tax experts think Congress and the Obama administration could actually make real progress on corporate tax reform this year. These optimists — who admittedly … Continue reading →

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2012   ECONOMICS: Plans for US manufacturing may yield more votes than jobs http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/usa-campaign-manufacturing-idUSL2E8DM87820120227 U.S. factories are hiring again, and Democratic President Barack Obama and some of his Republican rivals are pitching tax breaks to fuel a rebound in manufacturing and help rebuild a battered middle class. A focus on manufacturing may … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012   ECONOMICS: Report Says Candidates’ Plans Boost Federal Debt http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204778604577241664250668788.html While Republican presidential candidates are campaigning against President Barack Obama’s deficit-laden budgets, a new report concludes that three of the four contenders’ fiscal proposals would likely increase the federal debt. Only Texas Rep. Ron Paul has offered detailed plans that might … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012   ECONOMICS: Winners and Losers From a Tax Proposal http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/business/tax-break-for-manufacturers-offset-elsewhere.html The Obama administration, seeking to promote domestic manufacturing without increasing the federal deficit, proposed Wednesday to offset new tax breaks for manufacturers by raising taxes on a wide range of other companies. Some of the prospective losers are familiar targets, including … Continue reading →