N American Merger and Acquisitions, even with
Low #mkt Volatility
Record Low Bonds Yields
Volume 65% below March levels-trend
#barclays
14 minutes ago
Archive for February, 2012
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Latest Data Suggest Output Gap is Closing but Employment Gap is Closing Faster
The latest GDP data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicate that the output gap narrowed in Q4 2011 at a slightly more rapid pace than previously estimated. The second estimate, released February 29, showed US real GDP growing at a 3 percent annual rate last quarter, up from the 2.8 percent advance estimate released [...]
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When Does ‘It Will Hurt the Poor’ Outweigh ‘It’s Good for the Environment?’
“Nearly every environmental policy hurts the poor the most,” say Iain Murray and David Bier of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Writing recently in the Washington Examiner, they don’t limit their criticism to absurdities like federal tax credits for the $100,000 plug-in Fisker Karma (“a bold expression of uncompromised responsible luxury.”) The two analysts have it [...]
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Updated Seasonal Factors Remove Much of the Volatility from 2011 Monthly CPI Data
2011 was a roller coaster ride for U.S. consumer price inflation—or was it? If you went by the releases from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, monthly CPI inflation, stated as annual rates, bounced from over 6 percent in February, down to under -2 percent by June, and then back up over 6 percent in July. [...]
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Reforming the Payroll Tax: We Need More Than Another Temporary Cut. We Need a Permanent Fix
President Obama’s 2013 budget includes a proposal to extend the current 2 percent payroll tax cut, first put in place last year, for the balance of 2012. Congress will probably go along after another round of grandstanding. Yes, the payroll tax is too high. In itself, even a small, temporary cut might be welcome, but [...]
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Latest Economic Data Begin to Shift the Counterfactual in Favor of Democrats
For all of last year, as the parties tested their rhetoric in the early stages of the election campaign, Democrats were stuck in the unenviable position of arguing a counterfactual: “The economy is bad, but without what we have done, it would have been even worse.” That could very well have been true, but it [...]
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What Happened to Corporate Tax Reform?
President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union Address contained ringing language on corporate tax reform: Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are [...]
