What kind of fiscal stimulus would have the most impact on the economy? Moody’s Economy.com has made estimates for various different stimulus proposals of the one-year change in GDP for each dollar in government spending or tax cuts. Here are some examples: Non-refundable lump-sum tax rebate: $1.01 Refundable lump-sum tax rebate: $1.22 Payroll tax holiday: [...]
The Chinese government’s big announcement that it would spend $586 billion stimulating its domestic economy by building highways, railroads and airports excited global markets for about half a day Monday. Then everybody remembered that, as the WSJ reports: Already, according to official estimates, infrastructure spending had been increasing by an average of 20% annually for [...]
As I’ve pointed out, one of the big issues with re-writing the terms of mortgages to make them more affordable is that homeowners often have to start missing payments before lenders will make the time to talk. Not exactly the best way to get ahead of the housing crisis. Well, now Citigroup is stepping up with a push to get to struggling homeowners [...]
