Kevin Dietsch / UPI / LANDOV

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 Conard’s forthcoming book on economic inequality, and why we need more of it — a book that one observer suggests could well become “the most hated book of the year.”

Spain’s Death Spiral and the Hypocrisy of the Euro

Emilio Morenatti/AP

Anyone out there who thinks the euro zone debt crisis is over – and you know who you are – should take a good look at what’s going on in Spain. If Italy represented the biggest threat to the euro in 2011, then Spain will be the big story of 2012. Whatever numbers you look [...]

Obama’s Job Creation Tax Credit: Cool Idea, Bad Policy

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In his fiscal 2013 budget proposal, President Obama has suggested a temporary 10% tax credit designed to spur job creation and wage growth among small businesses. It’s a fine idea with a long pedigree — just the ticket if you’re in the market for small-bore economic policies that sound cool but don’t do much.

The Big Winner of the Great Recession Is …

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The recent recession has been the most brutal since the Great Depression. With household incomes generally lower and poverty rates significantly higher than they were 10 years ago, it’s easy to feel that everything is falling apart. But amid the wreckage, there are some success stories that are vitally important for the recovery and the future prosperity of America.

American Unemployment Falls to 8.6%: Amazing News, But Is It a Game Changer?

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Just when we were expecting the economy to go boom it went zoom

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]