http://www.realclearmarkets.com/ en Copyright 2008 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:06:24 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Though the interim years make the late ‘90s increasingly hazy, back then cash management via money market funds was a fairly simple concept. Investors to varying degrees wanted easy access to cash, and they enjoyed yields on cash holdings that seemed to fall in the 4%-5% range. Of course in the late ‘90s 5% returns were seen as all-too-boring given a stock market that kept testing new highs. Still, investors who wanted to be cautious with at least a portion of their wealth could count on reasonable compensation for the short-term use of their cash. Notable for central... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/08/having_wrecked_the_banks_the_feds_turn_to_money_market_funds_99507.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/08/having_wrecked_the_banks_the_feds_turn_to_money_market_funds_99507.html John Tamny John Tamny 2012/02 02/08/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:06:15 -0600 Tax reform perpetually tops policymakers' lists for ways to grow the economy, but a generation has passed since the last successful effort, the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This is because of a simple political reality-it's hard. But not, I believe, impossible. In the 26 years since the last reform, both our economy and the global economy have changed so significantly that the case for reform has never been stronger. In addition, the level of political interest in tax reform is the highest it has been since the mid-1990s, with Presidential candidates, Members of Congress, and the... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/08/a_plausible_first_step_toward_tax_reform_99506.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/08/a_plausible_first_step_toward_tax_reform_99506.html Alex Brill Alex Brill 2012/02 02/08/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:14:23 -0600 Economic data are subject to error, and employment statistics are no exception. Each month the employment figures are reported and discussed in the media down to the last digit as though blessed with divine perfection. But they're not. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports two monthly employment series: nonfarm payroll jobs collected from employers, and civilian employment collected from household interviews. Both are valuable in assessing the condition of labor markets and guiding policy decisions. But users would be better off, and gain better perspective, if they... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/07/the_haze_surrounding_the_unemployment_data_99505.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/07/the_haze_surrounding_the_unemployment_data_99505.html Alfred Tella Alfred Tella 2012/02 02/07/2012/00/00/00 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:46:25 -0600 Many people, observing the severe problems caused by Greece and other financially weak members of the European Union, wonder why the United States is not similarly afflicted. After all, the structures seem quite similar; the EU is united through a treaty into a single political grouping, while the U.S. is a union of states in a constitutional system. In addition, the U.S. federal government has no control over the budgets, taxing or spending of the various states, just as the European Union's government in Brussels has no control over the similar fiscal decisions of the various sovereign... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/07/why_the_us_doesnt_have_the_debt_problems_of_the_eu_99504.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/07/why_the_us_doesnt_have_the_debt_problems_of_the_eu_99504.html Peter Wallison Peter Wallison 2012/02 02/07/2012/00/00/00 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:39:44 -0600 "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." - L.P. Hartley, English novelist It must now be obvious that, economically speaking, we're in another country. Things we once took for granted no longer apply; things we never imagined occur all the time. We've entered a zone of ignorance where familiar experience and ideas count for less. "Thirty years ago, if you'd said that the United States and Europe were going to be the centers of financial crises, people would have thought you were crazy," says economist Fred Bergsten. The unforeseen... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/06/in_global_economy_crises_harder_to_resolve_99503.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/06/in_global_economy_crises_harder_to_resolve_99503.html Robert Samuelson Robert Samuelson 2012/02 02/06/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:12:20 -0600 Was Friday's "Employment Situation" report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) good news? Sure, if you live on Fantasy Island. Back here in America? Not so much. The BLS reported that the closely followed "headline" (U-3) unemployment rate fell to 8.3% in January. This represented a decline of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month's level and the lowest level since February 2009. So, why isn't this good news? The problem isn't just that the employment report wasn't good news, it's that the employment report wasn't even news.... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/06/another_unemployment_rate_fairy_tale_99502.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/06/another_unemployment_rate_fairy_tale_99502.html Louis Woodhill Louis Woodhill 2012/02 02/06/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:29:53 -0600 Politicians and journalists sure seem to believe that voters have the attention span and reasoning ability of a two-year old. Convinced that we are unable to hold multiple concepts in our minds long enough to judge how they fit together, you can count on being barraged with disconnected appeals to raw emotions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the way Washington concocts its complex tax and regulatory policies, and in the media's childish analysis. As dumb as they think we are, do politicians really believe that they are smart enough to fine tune the economy, counting on their media... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/06/why_cant_mainstream_media_connect_the_economic_dots_99501.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/06/why_cant_mainstream_media_connect_the_economic_dots_99501.html Bill Frezza Bill Frezza 2012/02 02/06/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:24:11 -0600 Message to Mitt: A rising tide lifts all boats. That great phrase was coined by the late Jack Kemp, who believed that growth and opportunity for all is the answer to poverty. In fact, Kemp believed it was the answer to all things economic. And he was right. The best anti-poverty program is the one that creates jobs. The answer to large budget deficits? Grow the economy, create jobs, watch incomes rise, and let the tax revenues come rolling in. Partly from Jack Kemp's work, and partly from his own experience, Ronald Reagan believed the same thing. He knew that growth is the single best... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/04/message_to_mitt_a_rising_tide_lifts_all_boats_99500.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/04/message_to_mitt_a_rising_tide_lifts_all_boats_99500.html Larry Kudlow Larry Kudlow 2012/02 02/04/2012/00/00/00 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:56:35 -0600 Over the last several decades, the character of international trade has changed dramatically. Drastic advances in communication and information technologies have allowed businesses to slice the production process into pieces which are then located in their most efficient locations. Supply chains are formed that stretch across the globe, and individual parts, components, and even tasks, are traded from one country to another within these chains. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama condemned this practice, saying, "It's time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/03/americas_flawed_outdated_trade_policy_99499.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/03/americas_flawed_outdated_trade_policy_99499.html Matthew Jensen Matthew Jensen 2012/02 02/03/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:31:27 -0600 It has been an interesting week in the markets. There are several developments that compete for rightful and careful consideration. The Swiss franc is perilously close to its 1.20 peg to the euro, perhaps inviting more currency intervention (the last time the franc strengthened as much was late July/early August - a time of great turmoil). In addition to money seemingly moving toward the relative safety of the franc, the ECB announced that dollar swap usage with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) rose to a level not seen since 2009 (higher than even those desperate summer days of... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/03/the_slippery_market_slope_steepens_99498.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/03/the_slippery_market_slope_steepens_99498.html Jeffrey Snider Jeffrey Snider 2012/02 02/03/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:21:05 -0600 In a recent Financial Times op-ed ("Charity Needs Capitalism to Solve the World's Problems"), former President Bill Clinton makes a murky, mealy-mouthed case for capitalism where he basically argues that while we need some capitalism to solve our current socio-economic problems, he questions how much capitalism is a good thing. Clinton writes: "While our global economic system has brought benefits to many it has also exacerbated inequalities, both within and among countries. Too much inequality not only hurts the poor and stifles the dreams of the middle-class, it also... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/02/defending_capitalism_from_inequality_hokum_99497.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/02/defending_capitalism_from_inequality_hokum_99497.html Victor Sperandeo Victor Sperandeo 2012/02 02/02/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:02:02 -0600 On Thursday the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marks up its new transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. The bill, sponsored by Chairman John Mica of Florida and Rep. John Duncan of Tennessee, both Republicans, authorizes $260 billion in spending over the next five years. It's about time that Congress considered a transportation bill. The last one expired in September, 2009. The new draft, subject to changes in committee, on the House floor, and then in conference with the Senate, looks like an improvement. It streamlines the federal... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/02/a_good_but_not_great_highway_bill_99496.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/02/a_good_but_not_great_highway_bill_99496.html Diana Furchtgott-Roth Diana Furchtgott-Roth 2012/02 02/02/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:26:56 -0600 Throughout his term, President Obama has rarely been on the side of business. In fact, I once remarked that his administration is the most anti-business in my lifetime - a comment I still stand behind today. But when the president supports and implements pro-business policies, I'll be the first to acknowledge and applaud him. So here are some kudos: First, the Obama administration said it would oppose the anti-piracy legislation that would hurt the Internet and innovation. Ahead of the recent Internet blackout by top Web companies to protest the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA) and... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/02/kudos_to_obama_for_supporting_business_99495.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/02/kudos_to_obama_for_supporting_business_99495.html Gary Shapiro Gary Shapiro 2012/02 02/02/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:55:48 -0600 By now Americans have heard just about every idea on how to fix our dismal economy, and we're only half way through the presidential election campaign. Much of the talk has centered on seemingly technical issues: the best tax policy to create jobs, the right design for programs to retrain those out of work, the best ways to measure and improve our schools in their jobs of educating the next generation of worker. A worker's economic fortunes, however, aren't solely a function of his training and intelligence, or of the opportunities around him. They are also the product... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/01/the_class_divide_in_white_america_99492.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/01/the_class_divide_in_white_america_99492.html Steven Malanga Steven Malanga 2012/02 02/01/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:40:28 -0600 Economy: The media's "improving economy" this election year exists only in Democrats' talking points. A new congressional report shows that joblessness is underestimated, while debt skyrockets. Thirty-six pages into the Congressional Budget Office's "Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022," released Tuesday, is the news that "the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been about 1 1/4 percentage points higher than the actual rate of 8.7%" once the "unusually large decline over so short a time" in labor... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/01/obamanomics_has_government_workers_happy_99494.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/01/obamanomics_has_government_workers_happy_99494.html Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily 2012/02 02/01/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:02:18 -0600 Once again, the regulators in California have decided to lead the nation in terms of vehicle emission standards, proposing to require that 15.4 percent of all vehicles sold by 2025 must be electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars, or (currently non-existent) fuel cell cars. In case you're wondering why this all sounds familiar, it's because California is re-running the same delusional program that it ran in 1990 (Yes, 22 years ago) when "Specifically, the Air Resources Board (ARB) required that at least 2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent of new car sales be zero-emitting by 1998,... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/01/electric_cars_doubling_down_on_dumb_99493.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/02/01/electric_cars_doubling_down_on_dumb_99493.html Kenneth Green Kenneth Green 2012/02 02/01/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:58:09 -0600 "I'm telling you that the cure is the disease. The main source of illness in this world is the doctor's own illness: his compulsion to try and cure and his fraudulent belief that he can. It ain't easy to do nothing, now that society is telling everyone that the body is fundamentally flawed and about to self-destruct." The Fat Man, The House of God, by Samuel Shem, p. 215 When doctors are asked what novel best describes what it's like to work in a hospital, Samuel Shem's 1978 classic, The House of God, is frequently the answer offered up. Though television... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/31/the_bernanke_fed_is_killing_the_economic_patient_99491.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/31/the_bernanke_fed_is_killing_the_economic_patient_99491.html John Tamny John Tamny 2012/01 01/31/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:53:47 -0600 Whatever else they are, the super-rich have now become political props. We can thank President Obama and Mitt Romney for this. Obama thinks he can ride resentment against the rich into the White House for a second term; and Republican Romney's fortune, estimated at $190 million or more, qualifies him as super-rich. By all means, Congress should pass the "Buffett Tax," named after billionaire Warren Buffett, who noted that his 2010 tax rate (17.4 percent) was about half his secretary's. The explanation is that Buffett's income comes mostly from dividends and capital... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/30/the_realities_of_a_buffet_tax_99490.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/30/the_realities_of_a_buffet_tax_99490.html Robert Samuelson Robert Samuelson 2012/01 01/30/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:46:39 -0600 Today we consider the political economics of establishing a permanent colony on the moon, the price offered by disgraced former Congressman and rehabilitated presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in exchange for victory in Tuesday's Florida Republican primary. In his quest to convince us he is the best man to return our nation to fiscal sanity, Newt made the astute observation that space exploration is to Florida what ethanol is to Iowa. Recognizing a good deal when he sees one, the handsomely-paid Freddie Mac historian promised the rump space-industrial complex, moldering in its misty... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/30/fly_me_to_the_moon_you_go_first_newt_99489.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/30/fly_me_to_the_moon_you_go_first_newt_99489.html Bill Frezza Bill Frezza 2012/01 01/30/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:14:45 -0600 You would think that with one of the weakest economic recoveries on record, President Obama would be desperately searching for ways to promote economic growth. It is, after all, an election year. Most pundit and pollsters agree that it's the economy stupid. But instead, Obama used his State of the Union speech to rail on about fairness, inequality, and redistribution. The Obama strategy is simple: Tax the rich because they don't pay enough. The problem is, they do pay enough. According to the Tax Foundation, Americans making $1 million or more pay a 25 percent average tax rate.... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/28/obamas_low-ball_vision.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/28/obamas_low-ball_vision.html Larry Kudlow Larry Kudlow 2012/01 01/28/2012/00/00/00 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:20:13 -0600 The IMF is clearly not satisfied with the current state of affairs in Europe. Not only has the global "agency" reduced growth forecasts across the board, it is predicting a global contraction absent comprehensive solutions to the PIIGS problems. Setting aside the obtuse idea that the world's economic problems only reside within the PIIGS, the stakes are very high in the manner and method that Greece pioneers before its March zero hour. The entire banking structure awaits some kind of agreement, knowing full well that this is the test case that decides how the multi-trillion... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/27/dueling_ghosts_of_past_economic_calamities_99487.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/27/dueling_ghosts_of_past_economic_calamities_99487.html Jeffrey Snider Jeffrey Snider 2012/01 01/27/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:03:02 -0600 In his State of the Union Address Tuesday evening, President Obama repeated his call for tax increases on high income earners-even though some of these same tax increases failed to get through Congress in 2010 when the Democrats controlled both Houses. This is part of the politics of class warfare that has become the defining feature of Mr. Obama's presidency. American manufacturing has fled offshore due to some of the highest corporate tax rates and the most stringent regulations in the world. Millions of jobs have gone offshore. Mr. Obama is desperate to get manufacturing to return, so... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/26/president_obamas_capital_gains_tax_envy_99485.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/26/president_obamas_capital_gains_tax_envy_99485.html Diana Furchtgott-Roth Diana Furchtgott-Roth 2012/01 01/26/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:05:40 -0600 Good news: economic activity is picking up. Not so good news: economic growth remains anemic and the pace of job creation too slow to make a meaningful dent in the unemployment rate. And there are potential external shocks - the fiscal crisis in Europe or an oil crisis in the Persian Gulf -- that could stall the modest recovery now underway. What's really needed is a "grand bargain" - near-term stimulus focused on investments in infrastructure, R&D, and human capital, accompanied by a credible long term plan to reduce the federal deficit to sustainable levels. But, in... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/26/how_to_grow_jobs_without_growing_the_deficit_99484.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/26/how_to_grow_jobs_without_growing_the_deficit_99484.html Bradley Belt Bradley Belt 2012/01 01/26/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:25:52 -0600 The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage. With its announcement today that it will keep interest rates near zero at least until late 2014, the Federal Reserve has put another large crack into the foundations underlying the U.S. dollar. Not surprisingly, precious metals and foreign currencies rallied strongly on the news with gold up more than 2.6% and the dollar index down nearly half a percent in the wake of the announcement. Tellingly, bond... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/feds_pledge_cracks_dollars_foundation_99486.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/feds_pledge_cracks_dollars_foundation_99486.html Peter Schiff Peter Schiff 2012/01 01/25/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:48:09 -0600 Regulation: Tuesday's GOP debate moderator was shocked by the front-runners' broadside against Dodd-Frank banking rules. He seemed to think they were hyping their damage. They weren't. The media elite are under the assumption that all government regulations are good. So when both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich took shots at Dodd-Frank, NBC News anchor Brian Williams was flabbergasted. He expressed skepticism that its new rules posed any problem. Gingrich straightened him out, arguing the media and the public don't know how "bad" the Democrats' law... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/underestimating_the_horrors_of_dodd-frank_99483.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/underestimating_the_horrors_of_dodd-frank_99483.html Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily 2012/01 01/25/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:34:12 -0600 Though the title of this piece would perhaps suggest a dislike of hedge funds, nothing could be further from the truth. If hedge funds didn't exist, we'd have to invent them. They're essential to a smoothly functioning economy for the traders in their employ endlessly searching for market mispricings to fix through the commitment of capital. Price signals tell those with capital where investment is and is not needed, and as hedge funds correct what's not right in markets, their existence ensures that less capital is destroyed on a daily basis. And while commentators who... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/rising_hedge_fund_count_limping_stocks_99482.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/rising_hedge_fund_count_limping_stocks_99482.html John Tamny John Tamny 2012/01 01/25/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:46:23 -0600 Despite frequent, dire warnings about the unsustainability of government budget deficits in the United States, Europe and Japan, investors are lining up to lend to some governments at very low interest rates. Interest rates on 10-year U.S. treasury notes are about 2%, close to record lows. The same is true in Germany and interest rates on Japan's 10-year government bonds are below 1%. This outcome is all the more surprising when, added to fear over oversupply of government debt, are warnings that the support given to debt markets by central banks amounts to the printing... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/why_are_interest_rates_presently_so_low__99481.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/25/why_are_interest_rates_presently_so_low__99481.html John Makin John Makin 2012/01 01/25/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:37:55 -0600 Bob Davids is an outspoken and provocative American entrepreneur who has launched six highly successful companies over the course of his storied career. His myriad business successes include building Radica Games, the third most profitable toy maker in the world which was purchased by Mattel in 2006; launching Sea Smoke, his world-class vineyard located in Central California (featured in the Academy Award-winning movie "Sideways"); and his latest venture, "Villa Keliki", a luxurious 8,000 square meter resort located on the breathtaking island of Bali. Davids has been... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/24/entrepreneur_bob_davids_speaks_his_mind_on_what_the_future_holds_99480.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/24/entrepreneur_bob_davids_speaks_his_mind_on_what_the_future_holds_99480.html RealClearMarkets RealClearMarkets 2012/01 01/24/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:49:44 -0600 The recent release of the 2006 transcripts of the Federal Reserve's main policy-making body stimulated a small media frenzy. "Little Alarm Shown at Fed at Dawn of Housing Bust," headlined the Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post agreed: "As financial crisis brewed, Fed appeared unconcerned." The New York Times echoed: "Inside the Fed in '06: Coming Crisis, and Banter." Comments from members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) now seem misguided. The first 2006 meeting was the last for retiring Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. Janet Yellen - then... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/23/why_the_fed_slept_on_the_housing_crisis_99479.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/23/why_the_fed_slept_on_the_housing_crisis_99479.html Robert Samuelson Robert Samuelson 2012/01 01/23/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:13:10 -0600 "The federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life." - President Barack Obama, Confidence Men, p. 186It's often been said in various ways by economic thinkers of the classical school that booms and bull markets don't die of old age, rather they succumb to policy failure. Economies, and by extension stock markets, in this certain sense do best when policy barriers to productive economic activity are light. But with policy from fallible politicians ever present irrespective of political party affiliation, mistakes are... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/23/the_state_of_the_obama_stock_market_99478.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/23/the_state_of_the_obama_stock_market_99478.html John Tamny John Tamny 2012/01 01/23/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:28:22 -0600 Let me build on Charles Krauthammer's great Friday column, "The GOP's Suicide March." Krauthammer argues that just as President Obama's class-warfare, soak-the-rich mantra started lagging in the polls, some Republicans on the campaign trail started making the case that Mitt Romney's Bain Capital was involved in nothing more than vulture capitalism, looting companies, and destroying jobs. Keeping class envy alive. I'm not going to name names, because everybody knows who these Republicans are. Instead, I want to go positive, and commend Mitt Romney himself.... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/21/mitt_romney_rightly_attacks_crony_capitalism_99477.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/21/mitt_romney_rightly_attacks_crony_capitalism_99477.html Larry Kudlow Larry Kudlow 2012/01 01/21/2012/00/00/00 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:01:27 -0600 Today South Carolina voters go to the polls. Two candidates - Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul - are campaigning on the gold standard. Polling, including for South Carolina, shows the gold standard to be a powerful vote getter as my colleague Andresen Blom and I pointed out recently in Roll Call. Both Gingrich and Paul supported gold long before it was cool - each with a record of meaningful support that goes back at least a quarter century. As it happens, South Carolina has an exceptionally rich history when it comes to an aversion to pure paper money ... like Federal Reserve Notes. South... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/21/south_carolina_the_presidential_nomination_and_gold_99476.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/21/south_carolina_the_presidential_nomination_and_gold_99476.html Ralph Benko Ralph Benko 2012/01 01/21/2012/00/00/00 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:31:37 -0600 Here's the good news for freedom-loving citizens across the United States: Barack Obama, our current President, will not win re-election this November. He cannot win re-election this November. It is a sure thing, a lock, with no possibility of being wrong. Now how can I be so sure? To the point of being cocky? Look no further than Jimmy Carter-the worst U.S. president since Richard Nixon's character flaws triggered his resignation. Jimmy Carter had a 54% approval rating when 1980 began. Today, (the same point in Obama's first-term) Obama has an approval rating of just 42%.... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/relax_obama_doesnt_have_a_prayer_in_november.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/relax_obama_doesnt_have_a_prayer_in_november.html Victor Sperandeo Victor Sperandeo 2012/01 01/20/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:39:48 -0600 There is little doubt that the current mainstream of economics features an abundance of Great Depression references and observations. It is an easy obsession to explain, with the 1930's being the last true economic calamity for us to reference. So it is natural human nature to try to define any current conditions that may manifest a new depression as similar to that last example of what one was, and, more importantly, how it formed, lasted and was ultimately overcome. Modern economics, however, has turned the guiding light of the past into rigid laws, rules and models for the... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/whats_the_matter_with_our_money_today_99474.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/whats_the_matter_with_our_money_today_99474.html Jeffrey Snider Jeffrey Snider 2012/01 01/20/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:33:23 -0600 For decades, investors have spent countless hours speculating about the Federal Reserve's agenda on interest rates. Market watchers study every adjective in often-cryptic Fed statements for clues about the outlook for monetary policy. Even the smallest nuances can lead to big swings in global markets. But the Fed hopes to make this signal decoding less difficult starting next week, when it will lift the shroud of secrecy and release the interest rate projections of the members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). This move toward greater transparency has generated a flood of... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/why_a_little_fed_transparency_could_be_dangerous_99473.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/why_a_little_fed_transparency_could_be_dangerous_99473.html Stephen Oliner Stephen Oliner 2012/01 01/20/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:13:44 -0600 A member of Goldman Sachs' 1998 new associate class, one of the first things we were exposed to during training was an old deal "tombstone" from the 1950s. Though the names of the financial institutions listed on it were foreign to the vast majority of associates, the message was an essential and sobering one: investment banks have a highly ephemeral quality to them. There lies one of the first truisms about Wall Street utterly lost on the protesters hanging around Occupy Wall Street encampments the world over. The firms they've made the objects of their scorn don't... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/its_time_for_occupy_to_pack_up_its_tents_99472.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/20/its_time_for_occupy_to_pack_up_its_tents_99472.html John Tamny John Tamny 2012/01 01/20/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:54:43 -0600 There's no specific, reliable number for the jobs that Mitt Romney supposedly destroyed and created during his tenure at Bain Capital, the private equity firm that he headed between 1984 and 1998. But one thing is sure-whatever jobs were lost in companies acquired by Bain, or shut down in a few cases, they were a tiny fraction of job destruction and creation in the American economy as a whole. Most people don't know that the economy destroys and creates millions of jobs every year. A monthly survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics captures the details. Called the Job Openings and... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/19/the_economy_creates_and_destroys_jobs_every_year_99471.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/19/the_economy_creates_and_destroys_jobs_every_year_99471.html Diana Furchtgott-Roth Diana Furchtgott-Roth 2012/01 01/19/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:35:16 -0600 Taxes: Mitt Romney's admission that his effective tax rate is around 15% prompted the usual class warfare rage from the left. But it also prompted news reports to repeat several myths about the country's income tax code. As CNN put it in the first paragraph of its story, Romney's 15% tax rate means "the multimillionaire pays a smaller percentage of taxes on his income than many middle-income Americans." This is a favorite canard of the left these days - that the super-rich often pay taxes at lower rates than do struggling middle-class families. It was propelled by... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/19/media_promote_myths_about_romneys_15_99470.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/19/media_promote_myths_about_romneys_15_99470.html Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily 2012/01 01/19/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:24:55 -0600 To combat the economic malaise, the Obama administration is bending over backward to encourage companies to create jobs in America. So why is the White House - and the Congress - challenging Huawei, a high-tech firm eager to invest and compete in the U.S. market? Call it the new Red Scare. Critics are afraid that giving a Chinese company access to vital information infrastructure could jeopardize U.S. security. As Congress reconvenes this week, the House Intelligence Committee is expected to pursue an investigation, first announced in November 2011, into the potential security threats posed... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/19/the_white_house_and_congress_repel_chinese_investment_99469.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/19/the_white_house_and_congress_repel_chinese_investment_99469.html Claude Barfield Claude Barfield 2012/01 01/19/2012/00/00/00 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:21:13 -0600 On the trading floor, "If you are good, 49 percent of your decisions will be wrong. Even if you are great, something just short of a majority will be losers." Nick Kokonas, Life, On the Line, p. 172 As is well known now, Federal Reserve transcripts released last week confirmed that Fed Chairman Bernanke was caught unaware by the brewing mortgage storm that rocked many of the banks his Fed is charged with overseeing. As Bernanke put it in 2006, "So far we are seeing, at worst, an orderly decline in the housing market." Bernanke went on to note that a cooling of the housing... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/18/ben_bernanke_is_finally_right_for_being_wrong_99468.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/18/ben_bernanke_is_finally_right_for_being_wrong_99468.html John Tamny John Tamny 2012/01 01/18/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:04:05 -0600 In few areas where public and private interests meet is the accounting as obscure, rigged and unrealistic as in the world of traditional defined benefit pensions, both public and private. We got another glimpse of this last week when the Wall Street Journal reported that the pension liabilities of bankrupt American Airlines have become a point of contention between the company and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the government entity that ensures private pensions, which is on the hook for as much as $8 billion if the airline shuts down its current pension plan. As the paper... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/18/congress_pension_math_doesnt_add_up_99467.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/18/congress_pension_math_doesnt_add_up_99467.html Steven Malanga Steven Malanga 2012/01 01/18/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:56:46 -0600 Mitt Romney has been the presumptive front-runner since the candidates first declared themselves for the Republican presidential nomination. But he has been the front-runner in name only. In actual fact, someone else has usually been at the top of the polls, and this person came under immediate and intense scrutiny that caused his campaign to fold, which is why we had a different someone else at the top of the polls every month. But now Romney is the certified front-runner, and oddly, it seems that it is only now--helped along by bitter and desperate attacks mounted by former front-runners... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/17/the_bane_of_capital_99466.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/17/the_bane_of_capital_99466.html Robert Tracinski Robert Tracinski 2012/01 01/17/2012/00/00/00 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:42:36 -0600 "Profit" is a dirty word. Profit-seeking businessmen are stock villains in Hollywood movies. "Occupy Wall Street" protestors demand, "People not profits" (whatever that means). Companies reporting healthy profits are automatically assumed to be exploiting customers and can only atone for this by "giving back" to their communities. "Making a profit" has an unsavory, morally suspect taint. Yet simultaneously, Americans have a far more positive view of the concept of "creating value." The mainstream press lauds visionary businessmen who... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/17/why_is_creating_value_good_profits_bad_99465.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/17/why_is_creating_value_good_profits_bad_99465.html Paul Hsieh Paul Hsieh 2012/01 01/17/2012/00/00/00 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:32:17 -0600 Business: After pushing through one of the largest expansions of government in history, the president now claims he wants to streamline it on behalf of struggling businesses. Pardon us if we're skeptical about his sincerity. On Friday, Obama pushed Congress to give him the authority to reorganize several government agencies, merging six that deal with trade and business development. The idea, he claims, is to cut duplication and red tape to make it "easier to do business in America." As a bonus, Obama says this will trim spending by $3 billion over a decade. Obama's sudden... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/16/businesses_need_relief_from_obama_not_govt_reorg_99464.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/16/businesses_need_relief_from_obama_not_govt_reorg_99464.html Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily 2012/01 01/16/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:24:28 -0600 If a presidential election were held between Gordon Gekko and Saul Alinsky, whom would you vote for? No, the pending match-up between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama is not a choice between a vulture capitalist and a radical socialist, but you wouldn't know from listening to partisans tirelessly trying to demonize the opposing candidate. That doesn't mean that the nation isn't truly facing a choice that will dictate how our government deals with money, or the lack thereof. But no matter who wins in November, the pain will not be over. At stake is how long the pain is going to... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/16/economic_stereotypes_battle_for_the_white_house_99463.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/16/economic_stereotypes_battle_for_the_white_house_99463.html Bill Frezza Bill Frezza 2012/01 01/16/2012/00/00/00 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:24:35 -0600 Recovery: The media have busied themselves with touting the big economic rebound they see brewing in the U.S. We hope they're right. But if they are, why is the Federal Reserve getting ready to print even more money? The media argument goes like this: After years of struggling, the economy is finally churning out jobs. Last month alone there were 200,000 new ones, with unemployment falling to 8.5% - its lowest since Obama entered office. This comes as a variety of U.S. economic sectors begin to show signs of life. And as they report this, the mainstream media can barely conceal their... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/14/despite_past_failures_fed_looks_to_print_more_money_99462.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/14/despite_past_failures_fed_looks_to_print_more_money_99462.html Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily 2012/01 01/14/2012/00/00/00 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:56:51 -0600 There's a very troubled company out there called U.S. Government, Inc. It's teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. And it badly needs to be taken over and turned around. It probably even needs the services of a good private-equity firm, with plenty of experience and a reasonably good track record in downsizing, modernizing, shrinking staff, and making substantial changes in management. Yes, layoffs will be a necessary part of the restructuring. A quick look at the income statement of this troubled firm tells the story. Just in the past year (FY 2011) the firm spent $3.7 trillion, but... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/14/isnt_a_bainful_turnaround_what_america_needs__99460.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/14/isnt_a_bainful_turnaround_what_america_needs__99460.html Larry Kudlow Larry Kudlow 2012/01 01/14/2012/00/00/00 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:09:59 -0600 Economy: Another year, another step down on the ladder for America - on the Index of Economic Freedom, that is - as the U.S. continues to lose ground to other countries. More than any other country, the U.S. can lay claim to being the home of economic freedom. Our giant economy was, to an extent greater than any other, built on free markets and free people, an inspiration to the world. It's a major reason we're the wealthiest nation on Earth. Sadly, in recent years our freedom has waned. Each year, the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal rank the world's nations... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/13/us_decline_in_economic_freedom_threatens_prosperity_99459.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/13/us_decline_in_economic_freedom_threatens_prosperity_99459.html Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily 2012/01 01/13/2012/00/00/00 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:47:57 -0600 The focus of the early part of 2012 is no doubt on central banks. In Europe, calls for the ECB to "monetize" troubled sovereign debt and rescue European banks are still in a loud crescendo. Back across the Atlantic, the Federal Reserve has just paved the way for QE 3.0 with its very public release of a research paper detailing how to solve the real estate depression (without a lot of actual details). Since almost all of Wall Street expects QE 3.0 to be a lot like QE 1.0, with the Fed engaging in the wholesale purchasing of mortgage bonds, there is little mystery to the timing of... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/13/central_banks_have_us_in_a_monetary_trap_99458.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/13/central_banks_have_us_in_a_monetary_trap_99458.html Jeffrey Snider Jeffrey Snider 2012/01 01/13/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:27:32 -0600 The financial crisis of late 2008 has been attributed to any number of causes. But we don't want complex stories, we want simple ones that allow us to affix blame. So most investigations into the financial crisis involve determining of whom it can be said: if they didn't behave the way they did, everything would have been just fine. For many conservatives, the people to blame were executives at the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whom they believe recklessly purchased mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by the billions because the government would intervene... http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/13/searching_for_the_causes_of_the_financial_crisis_99457.html http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/01/13/searching_for_the_causes_of_the_financial_crisis_99457.html Joseph Lawler Joseph Lawler 2012/01 01/13/2012/00/00/00 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:50:17 -0600