Economy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Economy: August 14th, 2012
- Paul Ryan: Good For The Stock Market?
- On Wall Street, the Rising Cost of Faster Trades
- European and US data support stocks
- US Retail Sales Rose Solid 0.8 Percent in July
- A Bipartisan Proposal for More Equity in Big Banks
Excerpts and More Top Stories
RYAN/MARKETS: Paul Ryan: Good For The Stock Market?
Jonathan Cheng, WSJ – It’s no secret that many on Wall Street prefer a Republican in office, ith Ryan’s pick, some on Wall Street are just happy that one minor source of uncertainty — “the market hates uncertainty,” you may have heard — is behind them. For now.
RYAN/MARKETS: Three Reasons Paul Ryan Makes the U.S. a Better Investment
Amity Shlaes , Bloomberg, Opinion – Maybe U.S. financial markets have a chance after all. That’s the message many of us take away from the news that Representative Paul Ryan will join Mitt Romney on the Republican presidential ticket.
ELECTRONIC TRADING: On Wall Street, the Rising Cost of Faster Trades
Nathaniel Popper, NY Times – The advantages of the nation’s increasingly high-speed stock market are under the microscope after a number of recent trading malfunctions underscored the risks that have come with rapid changes.
MARKET DATA: European and US data support stocks
Vivianne Rodrigues, FT – Stock benchmarks are adding to recent gains, challenging multi-month highs, as investors absorb a batch of generally well-received data that have eased some concerns about the health of the global economy.
RETAIL SALES FIGURES: US Retail Sales Rose Solid 0.8 Percent in July
Martin Crutsinger, AP – Americans boosted their spending at retail businesses in July by the largest amount in five months, a surge that could help lift the economy out from its slump. It was the largest increase since February and followed three months of declines, including a 0.7 percent drop in sales in June.
MARKET INSIGHT: Interview: Nouriel Roubini on Threats to the Global Economy
Peter Coy, Businessweek – Roubini earned the nickname Dr. Doom for predicting hard times before the financial crisis began in 2008. He talks with Peter Coy about his current outlook.
*Nouriel Roubini was a guest speaker at The Common Good in 2009 and 2011 [Link]
MARKET INSIGHT: The Frustration of Optimists
Gene Epstein, Barrons – The latest Blue Chip Economic consensus predicts a pickup in growth next year of 2.5% But it’s track record isn’t encouraging.
DC/FISCAL POLITICS: The dangerous myths at the heart of political parties’ fiscal policies
Washington Post, Editorial – The 2012 Presidential election will present voters with contrasting visions of government, but at the heart of each vision is a dangerous myth that undercuts the potential for serious policy discussion.
DC/REGULATORY LEGISLATION: Municipal Bond Rule Mired in Legislative Limbo
Mary Williams Walsh – The Dodd-Frank provision would require municipal bond advisers to put residents’ interests first but a House bill would eliminate the measure.
MARKETS: Even Amid the Current Turmoil, Stocks Still Beat Bonds
Burt Malkiel, WSJ Op-Ed – Investors saving for retirement have no reason to fear day-to-day volatility.
MARKETS: Is the Stock Market Really Dying?
Michael Sivy, Time – Pessimism is often most widespread when a long period of economic troubles is nearing an end. What follows can be a surprisingly strong rebound.
STANDARD CHARTERED INVESTIGATION: A Question of Improper Money Flows
NY Times, Editorial, – New York’s bank regulator takes the lead in investigating the practices of a British bank.
STANDARD CHARTERED: A Lawsky unto himself, or why New York erred on StanChart
Kishore Mahbubani, FT – The decision to go after Standard Chartered was fundamentally flawed.
INSIDER TRADING: Hedge-Fund Manager Testifies in His Insider Case
Chad Bray, WSJ – Hedge-fund manager Doug Whitman made the rare move to testify in his own defense on Monday, denying that he traded on confidential information alegedly provided to him by a government informant.
WALL STREET IMMUNITY: Why Goldman Sachs, Other Wall Street Titans Are Not Being Prosecuted
Peter Schweizer, Daily Beast – The Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Goldman Sachs in a financial-fraud probe is another sign of the cronyism that has kept Attorney General Eric Holder from taking action against other big Wall Street firms.
TRUTH IN FINANCE: Liar, Liar: Are politicians really less honest than the rest of us?
Dan Ariely, Foreign Policy – When my colleagues and I conducted a series of experiments, we found that people on Wall Street were more than twice as likely to lie as those on Capitol Hill. Even after the financial crisis, they get a pass. Are we focusing on the wrong bad guys?
DROUGHT/GRAIN PRICES: Investors burnt in US grain drought
Gregory Meyer, FT – Corn had been trading at multi-year lows in June only to surge more than 21 per cent as hot, dry weather eroded prospects for harvests.
JPMORGAN: JPMorgan in first debt sale since loss
Tracy Alloway, Vivianne Rodrigues, FT – JPMorgan returned to the debt markets, selling $2.5bn worth of bonds to investors in its first such issuance since announcing a multibillion-dollar trading loss in May.
KNIGHT CAPITAL: Knight-Software
Stephanie Ruhle, Christine Harper, Nina Mehta , Bloomberg – Knight Capital Group’s $440 million trading loss stemmed from an old set of computer software that was inadvertently reactivated when a new program was installed.
SMALL BUSINESS: What’s the Best Place in the World to Start a Company?
Jessica Stillman, Time – A Yale professor offers a new argument about geography and the success of a start-up.
MANUFACTURING:/AUTO Canadian Dollar’s Strength a Factor in Autoworkers’ Talks
Ian Austen, NY Times – Talks begin this week on a new Canadian Auto Workers contract as the three Detroit automakers have been scaling back their operations in Canada.
MANUFACTURING/I.B.M.: I.B.M. Adds an African Lab to Its Growing Global Research Network
Steve Lohr, NY Times – The opening of a research lab is another sign of I.B.M.’s bet that Africa is set to emerge as a vital growth market for the company.
ACQUISITION/GOOGLE: With Frommer’s, Google Taps Gurus
Amir Efrati, Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, WSJ – Google agreed to buy the Frommer’s travel brand, extending a bet on becoming a trusted guide for travel and local-business information.
AQUISITION/ADVERTISING: Focus Media receives $3.5bn buyout offer
Henny Sender, FT – US-listed Chinese ad group says chief executive and private equity firms have offered to take it private amid growing trend for such deals.
WALMART/CHINA Wal-Mart’s China Plans Advance
Laurie Burkitt, WSJ – Wal-Mart’s plan to expand online in China took a step forward as Chinese regulators approved the U.S. retailer’s purchase of a majority stake in e-commerce company Yihaodian.
STOCKS/FACEBOOK: Facebook Shares Unlocking
Telis Demos, Shayndi Raice, WSJ,- An avalanche of privately held Facebook shares could begin hitting the market this week, potentially putting further pressure on the company’s stock, as rules expire that have kept some early investors from cashing out.
ATHLETE ENDORSEMENTS: Social media could turn athlete earnings gold
Emily Steel, FT – Sports stars’ following on Twitter, Facebook and the like can extend their time in the spotlight much further than the closing ceremony.
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