Economy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Economy: September 25th, 2012
Excerpts and More Top News and Analysis:
HOUSING PRICES: Home Prices Climb Again – REUTERS via NYT
Single-family home prices rose in the United States for another consecutive month in July, beating expectations, according to the S.&P./Case Shiller composite index.
BANKING: Ex-Regulator Has Harsh Words for Bankers and Geithner - NYT
Sheila Bair, former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, takes aim at some regulatory colleagues in a new book.
BANKING: About-Face for Bankers’ New Lobbyist - NYT
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: To say that the choice of Tim Pawlenty to represent the banking industry is odd would be an understatement, but his appointment is the clearest sign yet of the flexible ethic that makes the revolving door in Washington spin faster.
BANKING: Big Banks Say They Are Meeting Their Lending Commitment - NYT
But they still aren’t explaining what exactly that commitment is.
MARKETS: Bond Investors Register Nervousness About Spain’s Recovery - NYT
An auction of short-term debt took place at sharply higher yields, a sign of uncertainty over whether Spain will ask for help from the European Central Bank.
HEALTHCARE: Health insurance costs speeding up – WP
Research suggests the culprit is not people seeking more treatment, but the rapid growth of the price of care.
HEALTHCARE/MEDICARE: U.S. Warning to Hospitals on Medicare Bill Abuses - NYT
The Obama administration cited “troubling signs” of abuse from the use of electronic records and vowed to prosecute fraud cases.
FISCAL CLIFF: Are fears of the fiscal cliff hurting growth? Maybe not - WP, OP-ED
Brad Plumer: So far, it’s hard to find signs that agonizing over fiscal Armaggedon is dragging down the U.S. economy.
PERSONAL FINANCE: New Wave of Workers Tries Saving More - WSJ
As older Americans lose jobs, lose homes and delay retirement, their children are watching and reacting. Growing numbers of young Americans are boosting savings, cutting spending and planning for retirement.
INVESTIGATIONS: Under Investigation, and Doing the Investigation - NYT
PETER J. HENNING: In dealing with corporate misconduct, the government may be leaning too much on the law firms hired by the companies under investigation.
INVESTIGATIONS: Wall Street Scandals Fill Lawyers’ Pockets - NYT
AZAM AHMED: The white-collar bar is thriving with cases like the collapse of MF Global and the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate.
LAW FIRMS: A Law Firm Where Money Seemed Secondary - NYT
JAMES B. STEWART: At Cravath, Swaine & Moore, associates were paid based on seniority, with no bonuses and no resentments.
TAXES: Tax Reform in 2013? – WSJ, OP-ED
Stephen Moore: Both parties seem to recognize that the current tax system is a cancer cell invading the economy.
TAXES: Republicans Champion ‘Voluntary Taxes’ - NYT
Republicans will do anything to avoid raising taxes, and their latest bill to encourage voluntary contributions is nothing more than a distraction.
TAXES: Romney and the Forbes 400 – NYT, OP-ED
Joe Nocera: The Republican presidential candidate and the country’s richest of the rich share a fondness for capital gains.
FED: Nine Questions About the Fed’s New QE Answered - BLOOMBERG, OPINION
Ramesh Ponnuru: The Federal Reserve has announced a third round of quantitative easing, a set of asset purchases designed to increase the money supply. It said it would keep easing until job growth accelerates, and continue a “highly accommodative” monetary policy “for a considerable time after the economic recovery strengthens.”
FED: Introducing the ‘reverse Volcker moment’ – FT, OPINION
Mohamed El-Erian: The US Federal Reserve has now put crushing inflation much lower its policy agenda.
EXECUTIVE PAY: Executive Pay Gets New Spin - WSJ
A growing number of companies are producing alternative measures of their top executives’ pay, seeking to persuade investors that compensation isn’t as high as the government’s yardstick implies.
ACCOUNTING FRAUD: Guilty Pleas in Trial Over Olympus Scandal - REUTERS via NYT
Three former executives could face up to 10 years in jail and fines of up to about $130,000 for $1.7 billion accounting fraud, lawyers say.
COMMODITIES: For Investors, a New Pick of the Crop - WSJ
A surge in China’s apple consumption is pressuring concentrate prices and has led to the first-ever futures contract in the product.
ENERGY: Coal and Nuclear Power Can’t Substitute for Pricey Oil - BLOOMBERG, OPINION
Jeff Rubin: About 40 percent of the world’s electric power is generated from burning coal, which is second only to oil in contributing to global energy use.
ENERGY: Arctic Oil-Drilling Delays Allow Time for a Safety Review - BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
Shell Alaska’s six-year, $4.5 billion-and-counting attempt to tap into the oil under the Arctic Ocean has seemed snakebit recently (or, given the indigenous wildlife, whalebit?).
APPLE/GOOGLE: Apple’s Scorched-Earth IPhone Fight With Google – BLOOMBERG, OPINION
Susan P. Crawford: In the article “Easter Island’s End,” Jared Diamond described the steps that led to the deforestation of a subtropical, fertile paradise.
AIR TRAVEL: Delays Irk American Airlines Passengers – WSJ
American Airlines and its passengers are struggling with a rise in late and canceled flights spurred by pilot-initiated maintenance requests and a shortage of crew members amid a labor dispute.
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