US Treasury
Trade Pacts with Europe and Japan Will Boost Unemployment
President Obama is betting a lot on free trade. Recently, he has agreed to open talks for mega trade deals with the European Union and Japan in hopes of jump-starting growth in both places and boosting U.S. exports and jobs. However, far from an elixir, free trade has been a rock on the back of [...]
Tougher Gun Laws Won’t Much Stem Violence
With the Senate will likely to vote on a bipartisan bill to toughen federal gun controls, Americans should remember the effectiveness of government regulations has limits. Ultimately, new laws will give Americans a false sense of security and further delay efforts to address cultural dysfunctions that give rise to so much violence. The Senate bill [...]
Sequestration Politics: Taxes like King George
President Obama has taken the middle class hostage in a thinly veiled bid to hike their taxes. Having refused to work with Congress to reduce spending by $1.2 trillion over ten years, as he agreed to do when drafting the Budget Act of 2011, the president must now implement $85 billion in across-the-board cuts to [...]
U.S. Suing S&P Smacks of Political Retribution
The Justice Department is accusing S&P of defrauding investors with optimistic ratings of mortgage backed securities and derivatives prior to the financial crisis. While investors are entitled to answers about those conflicts, compensation and reforms, the Attorney General and President, by singling out S&P, instead of other bond raters, appear to be engaging in political [...]
Euro Zone in Focus Again
by Dixon Fung Euro/USD is halting recent gains as the markets once again focus on the problems still existing in the Euro Zone. At the Munich security Conference, German Finance Minister Schaeuble said “The euro crisis is not over”. As pointed out in earlier analysis, the rise in the Euro since the fourth quarter of [...]
Gun Rights, Safer Children and the Culture Wars
As a parent and educator, I want children safer from gun violence. However, we should seek measures that work-not those that needlessly abridge personal liberties without producing significant results. Whatever we accomplish should not be at the expense of raising children to be secure and capable adults. Skepticism about tighter gun controls is understandable. Connecticut [...]
Slower Growth, Stubborn Unemployment in 2013
Recent retail sales data indicate economic growth is shifting down a gear from the 2.7 percent pace set during the third quarter. The December Bloomberg poll consensus projects growth at 1.4 and 1.6 percent in the fourth and first quarters-my submissions were 1.7 and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Paul Ryan!
A Smart Choice by a Savvy Executive Hold your breath America. Governor Mitt Romney has picked a running mate who could make him president. Congressman Paul Ryan complements Mr. Romney’s private sector expertise wonderfully. He has a clear and concise plan to fix the federal budget, and as I count electoral votes, he could put [...]
Why the Euro is Doomed
The longer Europe puts up with the fantasy that a single currency is essential to its prosperity, the longer Italy, Spain, Greece and others will flirt with financial ruin and self destruction. No bailout can save the Mediterranean economies from recurrent crises as long as they use the same currency as Germany and other northern [...]
How Did We Get Ourselves in this Mess?
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is at a historic low, trading below 1.5 percent as global markets are collapsing around us. The historic low is telling me that market participants are now more concerned with preserving their capital rather than seeking returns. It is easy to call the latest events a continuation of the 2008 [...]
Top News
- Bernanke signals Fed to maintain stimulus efforts May 22, 2013WASHINGTON (AP) — Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to end its extraordinary stimulus programs. […]
- Analysis: As economy strengthens, a bonds sell-off may beckon May 22, 2013By Ellen Freilich NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government bond market has weakened in recent weeks but some investment strategists fear that this may only be the beginning of an extended sell-off. They point to the relative strength of the U.S. economy with the labor market stronger than anticipated, retail sales rising and consumer sentiment climbing to it […]
- EU leaders discuss fight against tax evasion May 22, 2013BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Wednesday sought to advance their fight against tax fraud and close the loopholes for large corporations' tax avoidance schemes. […]
- Fiat Industrial says 500 million euro tax loss reports false May 22, 2013MILAN (Reuters) - Italy-based truck and tractor maker Fiat Industrial said reports that Italy would lose more than 500 million euros in tax receipts as a result of its moving fiscal domicile to the UK after a merger with unit CNH were absolutely false. According to U.S. stock exchange regulatory filings dated May 14, Fiat Industrial aims to be treated as a U […]
- Boeing expects 787 battery retrofits done by next week May 22, 2013WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co is 90 percent finished with retrofits of the battery system on its 787 Dreamliner and should finish the rest by next week, Ray Conner, president of the company's commercial airplane division, told an investor conference on Wednesday. Conner told the conference he saw "great momentum" on the 787 program, after o […]