Economy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Economy: September 6th, 2012
- Jobless Claims Decline
- U.S. Competitiveness Slips
- Don’t Make Banks Too Small to Succeed
- Regulators Clarify Timing of New Derivatives Rules
- SBA chief defends president’s small business record
Excerpts and More Top Stories
UNEMPLOYMENT/ADP: Jobless Claims Decline - WSJ
Unemployment claims fell for the first time in four weeks, a positive sign for the labor market ahead of Friday’s monthly jobs report. Private-sector payrolls, meanwhile, rose 201,000 in August, according to ADP.
GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS: U.S. Competitiveness Slips – WSJ
Northern European countries topped the overall ranking of a global competitiveness report by the World Economic Forum, as the U.S. slipped for the fourth year in a row.
BANKING: Don’t Make Banks Too Small to Succeed – BLOOMBERG, OP-ED
Phillip Swagel: Calls by former Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sanford Weill and others to break up the big banks reflect lingering public fear and anger toward financial institutions that seem too big to fail.
BANKING: Goldman boosts private loans to wealthy – FT
Stealth move to boost revenues with a host of new products through private bank lending follows clampdown on bank’s old profitmaking activities
BANKING: Citigroup sails into European bank waters - FT
US group launches commodity trade finance business and will start by financing for energy deals before considering metals and ‘soft’ commodities.
BANKING: New Turn in Brokerage Fight – WSJ
Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are battling over how much capital their brokerage venture should hold, a new twist in contentious talks.
MARKETS/REGULATION: Regulators Clarify Timing of New Derivatives Rules - NYT
BEN PROTESS: After months of uncertainty, federal authorities now say some new derivatives rules will not take effect until Jan. 1, providing a brief — but important — extension to Wall Street.
MARKETS/SEC: Pruning Hedge Fund Regulation Without Cultivating Better Rules - NYT, OPINION
JESSE EISINGER: The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rules to lift advertising restrictions for hedge funds, but the way this looks on paper and the way it will play out are a tad different.
MARKETS/MF GLOBAL: MF Global Claims Can Be Combined – WSJ
A bankruptcy judge allowed the trustee unwinding MF Global’s brokerage to combine his claims with those of individuals suing Jon S. Corzine and other former executives in U.S. district court.
MARKETS: Summer Rally Puts the Hurt on Fund Managers – WSJ
Some fund managers who lost out on the summer rally may have to buy shares to avoid being left in the dust, potentially giving the stock market another leg up.
MARKETS/SEC/CHINA: SEC Charges China Firm With Falsifying Earnings – WSJ
The SEC charged China Sky One Medical with falsely inflating its earnings, a rare action almost two years after doubts about the accuracy of disclosures by small Chinese firms sent U.S. investors fleeing.
ELECTIONS 2012/SMALL BUSINESS: SBA chief defends president’s small business record -WP
Karen Mills applauds an area of Obama’s record that has been at the center of relentless attacks from Republicans.
ELECTIONS 2012/ECONOMY: Who Built That? - NYT, OPINION
SIMON JOHNSON: American success and growth has drawn on a deep partnership between business and government, a history and practical approach that many Republicans seem eager to deny.
TAXES: More Tax Tricks, Private Equity Style - NYT, EDITORIAL
As long as income from investments is taxed at a lower rate, there will be no stopping the search for ways to pay the lower rate.
FINANCIAL BAILOUT: The Bailout: By The Actual Numbers – PRO PUBLICA
While Democrats paint a glowing picture of the bailout, our Bailout Tracker database tells the whole story. A look at the biggest losses and gains stemming from the TARP and Fannie, Freddie bailouts.
CEO PAY: Bargain Bosses: Why CEOs are worth every penny – ECONOMIST
The idea that American bosses are obscenely overpaid is conventional wisdom, and not just among the true believers at the Democratic convention. Steven Kaplan of Chicago’s Booth School of Business has been poking holes in this orthodoxy for years.
APPLE DATA HACK/FBI: Apple Says It Didn’t Give ID Data to FBI – WSJ
Apple said it didn’t provide a set of IDs tied to its devices to the FBI, days after a hacking group claimed to have obtained the data from the computer of an agent.
PERSONAL DEBT: The Household Debt Picture: Better, But Still a Drag – RCP
Karen Dynan: A report from the New York Fed last week showed that debt held by U.S. households has fallen to its lowest level since mid-2008. The report also showed that delinquency rates on most types of household loans have retraced a significant portion of their run-ups.
INVESTIGATIONS: Wall Street Finds Friends Can Help Scrub Records – BLOOMBERG, OP-ED
Susan Antilla: If there’s one thing we learned from Bernie Madoff, Allen Stanford and the countless perpetrators of the financial crisis, it’s that nobody’s word is worth trusting.
GOLD STANDARD: The Gold Standard Is Coming – FORBES, OPINION
Steve Forbes: Gold won’t be a sizzling issue this fall. The economy, entitlements and, possibly, war in the Middle East will dominate headlines. But the yellow metal will be a hot topic in the next 24 months.
SMALL BUSINESS: Running a Business With Staff Scattered Around the World - NYT
It can be difficult to get far-flung employees to work cohesively. The suggestions in this guide come from small-business owners who have tried.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT: Shell to Test Capturing of Carbon in Canada - NYT
The project is intended to permanently store more than a million tons of carbon dioxide a year, which Shell said is equivalent to taking about 175,000 cars off the road.
MANUFACTURING/STEEL: Steel Leads Revival in Ohio River Valley - NYT
From the vantage point of crew members of the tugboat Mike Weisend, the regional economy is improving as seen in increasing shipments along the Ohio River.
CREDIT CARDS: Prepaid Plastic Is Creeping Into Credit – WSJ
As overdraft and other credit-like features have been added to prepaid cards in recent years, some consumers are outspending their means and racking up big debts from the cards, say consumer advocates, who are lobbying regulators to ban the practice.
CREDIT CARDS: Card Giants Lead Rush to Myanmar - WSJ
MasterCard and Visa are leading the push among financial services firms to get into Myanmar, arguably the world’s sexiest new frontier market.
BUSINESS: Booze and puritanism in America – ECONOMIST
As its rules become more tolerant, the market for beer and spirits is growing more competitive
TECH/PATENTS: Apple vs. Samsung: Is copying theft or innovation? - LAT, OP-ED
Apple’s big victory over Samsung underscores a central economic issue: What is the right balance between competition and copying?
TECH/MOBILE: Motorola, Nokia Try for Edge in Smartphone Market - NYT
Motorola Mobility and Nokia unveiled their latest smartphones just ahead of Apple’s introduction of its next iPhone.
MEDICAL RESEARCH: A Clash Over a Spine Treatment - NYT
A researcher in a clinical trial for a device to treat back pain has been intimidated by the device’s maker, Vertos Medical, from reporting his negative findings.
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