Economy & Policy

Romney Pal Writes an Ode to Inequality

Mitt Romney no doubt appreciates the million bucks his former Bain Capital protégé Edward Conard has donated to his election SuperPAC. He may not appreciate quite as much the shout-out he gets in the acknowledgements of …

The Big Winner of the Great Recession Is …

The recent recession has been the most brutal since the Great Depression and has caused enormous hardship for many American families, as well as immense financial problems for governments around the world. As a result, it’s hard …

The Dismal Jobs Number: Time for New Stimulus?

There goes the recovery.

In May, the number of people employed in America rose by just 54,000. In addition, the unemployment rate rose for the second month in a row to 9.1%. Worse, the time it’s taking unemployed people to find a job rose to a new high of 39.7 weeks, or nearly 10 months. There was bad news in May’s jobs report, and then …

America’s Hottest Investment: Farmland

This is usually a slow time of the year for farm sales. It’s past prime planting season. Yet, Sam Kain, Des Moines area manager for land sales at Farmers National, is busy. He has 3 auctions this week. Most of the 30 or so bidders who show up will be farmers. But an increasing number of people buying land these days have no intention …

Why House Prices are Double Dipping

Welcome back to the sour economy.

It didn’t take long after the Memorial Day break to get the latest signs that the recovery remains in the gutter. The housing market has been looking like it was headed for a double dip for some time. On Tuesday, we got confirmation that it happened. According to the S&P/Case-Shilller housing index, …

New Rules For the Job Interview

The job interview has always been a crucial part of the hiring process. But in today’s intensely competitive labor market, it couldn’t be more key. For every open position, expect to find an army of qualified, and even overqualified, candidates starving for work in a country with 9% unemployment. If you’re lucky enough to make it …

TIME 100: What’s the Most Influential Business in America?

Larry Page of Google is on the TIME 100 list (Rick Wilking/Reuters)
Our annual TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world is out this week. Sadly, TIME is not just a business magazine. So the list encompasses all manner of influence that has been attained in various fields. There are actors and scientists and politicians

Curious Capitalist Curious Capitalist

The S & P Goes Bearish On the U.S.

Is this the first domino in the next global financial crisis? It’s possible. Today the S & P revised its long-term credit rating outlook for the U.S. from “stable” to “negative.” The immediate result has been a flight from risky assets and anything linked to optimistic views on global growth – gold and Treasuries are up, …

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