Economic Growth

Whatever Happened to $200 Oil?

Jeffrey Rubin | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Oil Prices, Global Economy, Economic Growth, Oil, Oil Production, Cibc World Markets, Business News
Jeffrey Rubin

If a mea culpa is in order, its roots can be found in the decision to underplay the demand side of the equation. Oil prices plunged to $40 a barrel after economic growth collapsed, taking global oil demand along for the ride. And that same movie is about to play out again.

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Looking Over the Cliff

Jared Bernstein | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Taxes, Unemployment, Income Inequality, Cbo Report, Economy, Fiscal Crisis, Economic Growth, Inequality, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Responsibility, Politics News
Jared Bernstein

Let's talk about the fiscal cliff -- you know, the one everyone's all wound up about? Well, the Congressional Budget Office just released their analysis of its potential impact on the economy and it ain't pretty. Add up all the stuff that's scheduled to turn into fiscal pumpkins at midnight on December 31, and you could get a serious impact on the economy. Unemployment would reverse course and start rising if that fiscal scenario remained in place -- but that's a big, important "if." All of the estimates assume we go off the cliff and don't climb back. But if, as Gail Collins imagines it, there's a bungee jump instead of a cliff dive, we can avoid the worst of this. One hopes that Congress can hammer the kind of compromise that has eluded them thus far -- the one that adds tax revenues to any agreement -- before the end of the year, or early next.

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Show Peter Peterson We Reject His Elite Austerity Consensus

Roger Hickey | Posted 05.13.2012

Read More: Federal Budget Deficit, Simpson-Bowles, Jobs, Pete Peterson, Bernie Sanders, Economic Growth, Campaign for America's Future, Austerity, Fiscal Policy, Politics News
Roger Hickey

This meeting will not issue a rallying cry for bold growth policies to put America to work. And we should try to make sure that Democrats do not buy into what the organizers are selling -- because the voters certainly won't.

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Economic Ambiguity

Michael Farr | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: U.S. Treasuries, Economy, Bonds, Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, Dividends, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Consumer Spending, Fiscal Policy, European Debt Crisis, Portfolio, US Stocks, Unemployment, Inflation, Mortgage Rates, Economic Recovery, Economic Growth, Treasury Yields, FInancial Markets, Business News
Michael Farr

We continue to believe that investors are underestimating the risks inherent to the bond market at this stage in the game. Bond investors are not being compensated for the risks they are assuming when they are not even able to earn the expected rate of inflation.

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We Could Still Be In A Recession If Not For The Stimulus, Report Finds

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 05.02.2012

Read More: Tarp, Obama Stimulus, Troubled Asset Relief Program, Mitt Romney, Stimulus, Barack Obama, Recession, Video, Economic Stimulus Package, Gdp, Bailout, Stimulus Package, Great Recession, Financial Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Economic Growth, Business News

The recovery's been weak these last few years. But if the federal government hadn't reacted to the financial crisis the way it did, things would have ...

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Jobs and Growth: Can't Have One Without the Other?

Min Zhu | Posted 05.02.2012

Read More: United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Jobs, Spain, United States, Italy, Cyprus, Iceland, Ilo, Unemployment, Greece, International Labor Organization, Economic Crisis, Imf, Economic Growth, Business News
Min Zhu

The news on the jobs front, unfortunately, remains grim. Why isn't the jobs picture better? Quite simply, it's because the growth picture isn't very good.

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Health Care Economics

Jared Bernstein | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: Obama Stimulus Plan, Economic Recovery, Obama Economy, Obama Stimulus, Republicans Economy, Economy, Economic Growth, Business News
Jared Bernstein

If the economy were a person, here's how I'd describe his travails in recent years. For far too long, he binged on junk food, with no regard for the impact of such dietary habits on his system.

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Ghana -- the Gateway to Africa

David Weiss | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Ghana, Economic Growth, Water and Sanitation, Emerging Markets, Ghana Development, World News
David Weiss

The Ghanaian people are rightly optimistic about their future, and that optimism can be felt throughout all levels of the country and its communities. It is a country on the move and a place to watch in the future.

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Growth Isn't Going to Last Forever

Andrew Winston | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Bhutan, Economics, Gross National Happiness, Compound Growth, Physics, Renewable Energy, Economic Growth, Fareed Zakaria, Energy Use, Tom MUrphy, Green News
Andrew Winston

Aside from tiny Bhutan and their pursuit of Gross National Happiness, every country bases economic policy on the pursuit of endless GDP growth. But nothing can grow forever, and thus national goals alike have a sizable blind spot.

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Congress Needs to Decide How Big a "Small" Business Is

Lloyd Chapman | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: Small Business Tax Subsidy, Lloyd Chapman, House of Representatives, President Obama, House, Small Business Tax Cut Act, Economy, Bain Capital, Mitt Romney, Jobs, Congress, Economic Growth, Democrats, American Small Business League, h.r. 9, Republicans, Job Creation, Federal Contract Fraud, Senate, How Big Is a Small Business, Small Businesses, Net New Jobs, Election-Year Politics, H.R.9, Small Business News
Lloyd Chapman

I would imagine that 99 percent of people in America would agree, that whatever Congress decides a small business is, Fortune 500 firms and multi-billion dollar investment firms should not be allowed to fit into that definition.

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Study: High Government Debt Leads To 'Panic And Contradictory Policies'

The Huffington Post | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Growth Government Debt, Government Debt Growth, Debt Economic Growth, Video, Growth Debt, Government Debt, Economic Growth Debt, Public Debt, Debt Growth, Growth, Economic Growth, Government Debt Economic Growth, Economic Growth Government Debt, Business News

It might not be government debt itself that's a danger to the U.S. economy. That's because government debt does not necessarily lead to lower econ...

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Further Gains for the Banks?

Michael Farr | Posted 04.19.2012

Read More: Earnings, Banks, Bank Stocks, Credit Crisis, Economic Growth, Stocks, Business News
Michael Farr

The dramatic rebound in bank stocks is a reflection of just how depressed the sector had become. So has the opportunity passed, or should we continue to expect outsized gains from the sector?

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Mediocre Growth, High Risks, and the Long Road Ahead

Olivier Blanchard | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: Income Inequality, Public Debt, Economic Crisis, Oil Prices, Fiscal Stimulus, Imf, Europe, Economic Growth, World Economic Outlook, Video, Business News
Olivier Blanchard

For the past six months, the world economy has been on what is best described as a roller coaster.

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Limits to Growth: Of Stuff, Value, and GDP

Brian Czech | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Energy, Value, Limits to Growth, Satisfaction, Economic Growth, Production, Gdp, Consumption, Happiness, Business News
Brian Czech

I'm starting to think that perpetual growth notions are the Achilles heel of the human brain. They pop up like munchkins on a wackamole machine. You s...

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Why a Fair Economy Is Not Incompatible With Growth But Essential to It

Robert Reich | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Obama Buffet Tax, Bush Tax Cuts, Middle Class, Tax Cuts, Republicans Tax, Barack Obama Taxes, Economic Growth, Obama Tax Cuts, Buffett Rule, Business News
Robert Reich

What we should have learned over the last half century is that growth doesn't trickle down from the top. It percolates upward from working people who are adequately educated, healthy, sufficiently rewarded, and who feel they have a fair chance to make it in America.

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From Under the Mattress and into the Bank: Increasing Financial Access for Women in Nigeria

Joseph W. Saunders | Posted 04.12.2012

Read More: Developing World, Economic Growth, Ngos, Women and Money, Women and the Economy, Social Growth, Cash-Based Economy, Poverty, Global Poverty, Visa, Women's World Banking, Efina, Video, Money News
Joseph W. Saunders

A growing chorus of voices is calling for a shift away from cash-based economies in the developing world.

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Conditions Are Right for GOP to Make Big Inroads with Hispanics

Mark Pfeifle | Posted 04.09.2012

Read More: Latinos, Libre Initiative, Small Business, Unemployment, Prosperity, Hispanic Vote, Economic Optimism, Obama, Economic Recovery, Immigration, Hispanics, Economic Growth, Latino Prosperity, Voting, Elections 2012, Gop Primary, Republican Primary, Latino Voters, 2012 Election, Hispanic Voters, Politics News
Mark Pfeifle

We so often hear that Republicans have lost ground with Hispanic voters. But the real story is that Hispanic voters feel like both political parties -- Republicans and Democrats -- are more interested in securing their community's votes than in solving their problems.

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What Causes Interest Rates to Rise

Michael Pento | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Interest Rates, Bank of Japan, Ecb, Economic Growth, Ten Year Note, ECB President Mario Draghi, Soverign-Bonds, Business News
Michael Pento

However, in contrast to what passes for the economic wisdom of today, an increase in the rate of sovereign bond yields would be a function of deterioration in their credit, currency and inflation risks. But it would never be because of an increase in the prospects for growth.

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Obama's Outside-the-Box Pick for World Bank President

Terra Lawson-Remer | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Jim Yong Kim, Economic Growth, World Bank President, World Bank, College News
Terra Lawson-Remer

The World Bank has already begun to embrace a more community-empowered framework; under Jim Yong Kim's leadership this important new direction could develop sustainable roots.

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Resource Depletion Is a Bigger Threat Than Climate Change: An Interview With Tom Murphy

James Burgess | Posted 03.29.2012

Read More: Solar Energy, Shale Gas, Fossil Fuels, Peak Oil, Green Technology, Green, Green News, Renewable Energy, Oil Prices, Bill Gates, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Green Energy, Green News
James Burgess

Rising geopolitical tensions and high oil prices are continuing to help renewable energy find favor amongst investors and politicians. Yet how much faith should we place in renewables to make up the shortfall in fossil fuels?

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David vs. Goliath

Sen. Mark Udall | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Small Business, Lending, Loans, Harry Reid, Banks, Jobs, Business, Economic Growth, Credit Unions, Denver News
Sen. Mark Udall

Colorado small businesses are starving for credit, yet an unnecessary federal regulation is standing in the way, limiting the options available for small-business loans. My bipartisan bill would increase access to capital for small businesses.

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Four Positive Trends That Haven't Helped Money Market Accounts

Richard Barrington | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Money Market Accounts, Economic Growth, Money Market Rates, Credit, Inflation, Economy, Employment, Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, Business News
Richard Barrington

In the second week of February, money market rates slipped yet again, falling by one basis point to 0.14 percent. This happened despite at least four economic trends that suggest that interest rates should be rising rather than falling.

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Turns Out Recovery Is For The Rich

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 03.05.2012

Read More: 1 Percent, Income Gap, Recovery, Earning Gap, Income Inequality, Top 1 Percent, Recession, Barack Obama, Wealth Gap, 99 Percent, Video, Income Growth, Great Recession, Occupy Wall Street, Economic Recovery, Capital Gains, Economic Growth, Business News

Technically, the economy has been in recovery for two years. But it turns out the rich have been doing most of the recovering. In 2010 -- the first...

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Feds Admit They're Not Growing Economy

The Huffington Post | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 03.05.2012

Read More: U.S. Economy, Government Deficit, John Boehner, Economy, President Obama, Government Spending, Obama Administration, Obama, Eric Cantor, Barack Obama, Austerity, US Economy, Government, Video, U.S. Government, Government Budget Cuts, Government Spending Cuts, Economic Growth, Austerity Measures, Business News

The government is the second largest component of the U.S. economy, making up one-fifth of all economic activity. But federal, state and local gov...

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Oil vs. Morning in America

Brent Budowsky | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Gas Prices, Alternative Energy, Opec, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Energy Security, Economic Growth, Oil Speculators, Bank Lending, Oil Prices, Oil, Economic Confidence, Business News
Brent Budowsky

Do not underestimate the potential political and economic power of the recovery that has begun. The economy still faces challenges, but the signs of recovery are real, growing and widening in scope.

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