When it comes to determining the best approaches to solving the world’s economic and social ills, rational people can, and do, disagree. But there’s one point on which something approaching unanimity has emerged: That private …
Government
Will Banning or Taxing Soda Really Make Us Healthier?
The taste of soda may be sweet, but the potential consequences of those empty calories — obesity, diabetes, higher mortality, and skyrocketing health care costs — are not. In response, many states and cities in recent years …
Are Average Investors Getting Bilked by Wall Street Supercomputers?
While high-frequency trading has propped up volume in the market, the method rewards shortsighted investors looking to make a quick profit
Ben Bernanke’s Heavy Artillery: Will Open-Ended Bond Buying Drive Down Unemployment?
Ben Bernanke and made an open-ended commitment yesterday to purchase mortgage-backed securities at a rate of $40 billion per month, aiming to inflate asset prices and pump fresh credit into the economy. The move answers critics …
New Public-Private Partnerships: The President’s Stealth Plan To Create Jobs?
As casual reading, the Presidential Memorandum “Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses,” released Oct. 28, 2011, is about as riveting as the Department of …
Will the Stock Market Keep On Rising?
The forces that have boosted the prices of blue-chip stocks over the past year are diminishing, while other factors have become increasingly uncertain.
Four Years After Bailout, We’re No Closer to a Coherent Housing Policy
Last week marked the fourth anniversary of the federal government’s takeover of the government-sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And while the Wall Street and auto industry bailouts get the most attention, …
Amid Public Backlash, Bankers Maintain Influence in Washington
Wall Street isn’t the most popular industry in America right now. A poll conducted last fall by the Washington Post and ABC News found that 70% of the country viewed financial institutions on Wall Street unfavorably — and that …
Report: New York AG Investigates Private Equity Tax Loophole
The impending 2012 election has put tax law at the very center of the national conversation, but not all of the talk has been strictly about whether the rich should be paying more taxes. It has also focused on more esoteric …
8 Ways Washington Could Really Help Small Business
Politicians of both parties claim to support small business–but if that’s so, here’s what they should really do.
Bernanke Stands Pat: No New QE (For Now)
While most Americans have their minds squarely fixed on beach and barbecue plans this weekend, market participants had their eyes an ears affixed to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech this morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The …
Is the U.S. Headed for a Double-Dip Recession?
The economy may well be able to continue growing and avoid another slump, but the recovery is unlikely to gain much momentum in 2013.