Economy News

from AIER

Established 1999

New England, USA

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Daily Economy

  • April Jobs Report Preview

    •

    April Jobs Report Preview

    The monthly jobs report may be the single most important data release for judging the health of the labor market. Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the U.S. economy added just 98,000 jobs in March, well below the recent trend of about 200,000 new jobs per month.

  • Government Shutdown Averted for Now

    •

    Government Shutdown Averted for Now

    The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 suspended the debt ceiling through March of this year. In mid-March the debt ceiling was raised to the current level. The Treasury has undertaken so-called extraordinary measures to continue funding the government. In effect, extraordinary measures allow the Treasury to temporarily borrow from other federal agencies.  Congress is set…

  • •

    Private Governance and Online Shopping

    In years past, almost all retail trade was conducted at brick-and-mortar stores. Merchants depended on their reputations to drive customer traffic. But reputation mostly spread by word of mouth. Merchants risked their good reputation if they sold bad products. This gave consumers a layer of protection. As retail sales moved outside of brick-and-mortar shops to…

  • •

    Students Learn from Our Teachers

    In my last blog, I described how teachers improve their knowledge of economic concepts by attending our Teach-the-Teachers program. Today I would like to turn my attention to students. Students directly affected by our teachers are the ones who experienced the field test of the lesson—that is, they were in attendance the day of the…

  • •

    Student Debt and Home Ownership Rates: Perception and Action

    How much does student debt affect Americans’ chances of owning a home? Recent research gives a wide range of answers to that question. The debt definitely lowers ownership rates, but whether the effect is minor or massive depends on the exact questions asked and how the answers are framed. As I wrote in an AIER…

  • •

    Durable-Goods Orders May Signal A Rebound in Capital Spending

    New orders for durable goods, items intended to last three years or longer, rose 0.7 percent in March, the third monthly increase in a row. Durable-goods orders tend to be volatile from month to month, but the details in the report provide some optimism for capital investment and economic growth in general. Over the first…

  • •

    Don’t Wait for the Government to be Libertarian

    In a recent piece for Forbes entitled “Libertarianism Needs to Be More Realistic,” Adam Ozimek writes that “many -though not all- libertarians imagine a vision of society that the vast majority of Americans simply do not want.” As a result, he argues, “realistic libertarianism would unabashedly accept limits of markets, and embrace in rhetoric, theory,…

  • President Trump Slaps a Tariff on Canada

    •

    President Trump Slaps a Tariff on Canada

    “Canadian Bacon” is a mid-1990s satire of U.S. politics. In the film, the president tries to boost the economy by starting a war with Canada. The opening salvo involves Bud Boomer, a rural sheriff from upstate New York, sneaking into Toronto to throw garbage in a park. The fictitious war ends up hurting the economy.…

  • •

    Teachers Are Students at Our Workshops

    AIER’s Teach-the-Teachers Initiative (TTI) is a multiday program that provides high school teachers in various disciplines with understanding of economic concepts. The novelty of the program is the Economics-Across-the-Curriculum approach, which encourages teachers to incorporate economic concepts into their various fields of study. The program, therefore, appeals not only to economics teachers but to teachers…

  • •

    New Home Sales Rise as Consumer Confidence Ticks Down

    Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported a healthy gain in sales of existing single-family homes for March. Today, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes also rose in March. Counterbalancing the upbeat housing news was a report from the Conference Board showing that consumer confidence ticked down slightly in April.…

  • April Jobs Report Preview

    •

    April Jobs Report Preview

    The monthly jobs report may be the single most important data release for judging the health of the labor market. Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the U.S. economy added just 98,000 jobs in March, well below the recent trend of about 200,000 new jobs per month.

  • Government Shutdown Averted for Now

    •

    Government Shutdown Averted for Now

    The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 suspended the debt ceiling through March of this year. In mid-March the debt ceiling was raised to the current level. The Treasury has undertaken so-called extraordinary measures to continue funding the government. In effect, extraordinary measures allow the Treasury to temporarily borrow from other federal agencies.  Congress is set…

  • •

    Private Governance and Online Shopping

    In years past, almost all retail trade was conducted at brick-and-mortar stores. Merchants depended on their reputations to drive customer traffic. But reputation mostly spread by word of mouth. Merchants risked their good reputation if they sold bad products. This gave consumers a layer of protection. As retail sales moved outside of brick-and-mortar shops to…

  • •

    Students Learn from Our Teachers

    In my last blog, I described how teachers improve their knowledge of economic concepts by attending our Teach-the-Teachers program. Today I would like to turn my attention to students. Students directly affected by our teachers are the ones who experienced the field test of the lesson—that is, they were in attendance the day of the…

  • •

    Student Debt and Home Ownership Rates: Perception and Action

    How much does student debt affect Americans’ chances of owning a home? Recent research gives a wide range of answers to that question. The debt definitely lowers ownership rates, but whether the effect is minor or massive depends on the exact questions asked and how the answers are framed. As I wrote in an AIER…

  • •

    Durable-Goods Orders May Signal A Rebound in Capital Spending

    New orders for durable goods, items intended to last three years or longer, rose 0.7 percent in March, the third monthly increase in a row. Durable-goods orders tend to be volatile from month to month, but the details in the report provide some optimism for capital investment and economic growth in general. Over the first…

  • •

    Don’t Wait for the Government to be Libertarian

    In a recent piece for Forbes entitled “Libertarianism Needs to Be More Realistic,” Adam Ozimek writes that “many -though not all- libertarians imagine a vision of society that the vast majority of Americans simply do not want.” As a result, he argues, “realistic libertarianism would unabashedly accept limits of markets, and embrace in rhetoric, theory,…

  • President Trump Slaps a Tariff on Canada

    •

    President Trump Slaps a Tariff on Canada

    “Canadian Bacon” is a mid-1990s satire of U.S. politics. In the film, the president tries to boost the economy by starting a war with Canada. The opening salvo involves Bud Boomer, a rural sheriff from upstate New York, sneaking into Toronto to throw garbage in a park. The fictitious war ends up hurting the economy.…

  • •

    Teachers Are Students at Our Workshops

    AIER’s Teach-the-Teachers Initiative (TTI) is a multiday program that provides high school teachers in various disciplines with understanding of economic concepts. The novelty of the program is the Economics-Across-the-Curriculum approach, which encourages teachers to incorporate economic concepts into their various fields of study. The program, therefore, appeals not only to economics teachers but to teachers…

  • •

    New Home Sales Rise as Consumer Confidence Ticks Down

    Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported a healthy gain in sales of existing single-family homes for March. Today, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes also rose in March. Counterbalancing the upbeat housing news was a report from the Conference Board showing that consumer confidence ticked down slightly in April.…