economics

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Phone Data Used to Map Human Activity

Study, outside US, finds ingrained habits, raises privacy issues

(Newser) - Researchers using mobile-phone data to study patterns of human movement find that we're quite creatures of habit, the BBC reports. The 100,000 randomly selected subjects—outside the US, where such tracking would be illegal, the AP notes—remained mostly in the same small area, traveling less than 6½ miles...

Bankrupt, Linens 'n Things Will Fold 120 Stores

Retailer files for Chapter 11 as consumer spending falls

(Newser) - Linens 'n Things filed for bankruptcy protection today, MarketWatch reports, and plans to close 120 stores nationwide as other operations continue. "The significant deterioration in the mortgage, housing and credit markets and the resulting impact on the retail marketplace, particularly the home sector, has overwhelmed the operating and merchandising...

Economists Slam Clinton, McCain Gas-Tax Cut

Oil companies would be winners in plan that fails 'Economics 101'

(Newser) - Economists and a leading House Democrat are blasting the gas-tax cut proposed by both John McCain and Hillary Clinton, the Washington Post reports. Economists say most of the savings would flow right to the oil companies' bottom line, rather than into voters’ pockets. That's because the tax vacation would raise...

India, China Growth Breaks Western Mold
India, China Growth Breaks Western Mold
OPINION
Feb 3, 2008 7:33 AM CST

India, China Growth Breaks Western Mold

Essayist says market reforms are only part of the big picture

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom chalks up the economic booms in China and India to their moves toward global capitalism in the '90s. It's a comforting thought for the West, writes Pranab Bardhan in the Boston Review, but the truth is far more complex. The astounding growth in both countries started well before...

Davos Summit: a Moral Sham?
Davos Summit: a Moral Sham?
OPINION
Jan 25, 2008 9:28 PM CST

Davos Summit: a Moral Sham?

Moguls shed guilt and seek bailout money, but do pay homage to ideas: Guardian

(Newser) - The Davos summit, an annual retreat “where money comes to find morality and politics comes to meet money,” is the capital of capitalism—yet the world's economic crisis is only spoken of in whispers there, writes Julian Glover in the Guardian. Instead, moguls press the flesh with Middle...

White House Economic Guru Stepping Down

Al Hubbard departure said to strengthen Paulson's hand

(Newser) - Top White House economics adviser Al Hubbard will step down by year's end, the AP reports. Hubbard, who has expressed frustration over his inability to get Bush economic initiatives through the Democrat-controlled Congress, will be replaced by deputy Keith Hennessy. Hubbard's departure will boost the influence of less ideological, more...

Study Traces Europe's Bets on Civil War

This re-enactment uses Confederate bonds, not weapons

(Newser) - Studying sales of Confederacy bonds in Amsterdam during the US Civil War, two economists say they're able to judge how European traders saw the South's chances of victory, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investors pegged the rebels' odds at 42% early on, but their 1863 defeat at Gettysburg sank bond...

3 Americans Share Nobel in Economics

Prize awarded for mechanism design theory

(Newser) - Americans Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin, and Roger Myerson have won this year’s Nobel Prize in economics for developing "mechanism design theory,"  which indicates when markets are working effectively, Reuters reports. The theory can be used to assess the factors which make individuals and corporations deviate from...

Credit Crisis Spurs Calls for New Oversight

EU, Asia want cooperation in US market regulation

(Newser) - Financial regulators and politicians across Europe and Asia are banding together to demand an international role in the oversight of American markets. The subprime meltdown has demonstrated that fluctuations in American markets can wreak havoc the world over, the Times reports, and now international players are wondering why they must...

5 Signs That Augur the Fall of the Bull

A look at reliable indicators that the bear market is ascendant

(Newser) - After reaching a high in mid-July, the Dow has taken a sharp downturn. But how do you know when the bloom is off the rose? Here are Money magazine's five signs that usually precede a fall:
  1. Sudden surge in oil prices
  2. Treasury yields run up

Beyond Chavez: The Other Latin America Is Booming

Brazil and Mexico lead in growth, reform

(Newser) - Despite the rhetorical drumbeat from Hugo Chavez, not all of Latin America is mired in poverty exacerbated by free-market extremes exported from the US, the Economist writes. Led by giants Brazil and Mexico, much of the region is actually better off now than at any time in 30 years; the...

Fed Weighs Risky Biz of Rate Cut
Fed Weighs Risky Biz of Rate Cut
Aug 13, 2007 4:03 AM CDT

Fed Weighs Risky Biz of Rate Cut

Intervention could encourage more risk and trigger bigger crisis

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is facing a dilemma as it decides whether to ride to the rescue of  the market by slashing interest rates—and risk encouraging further recklessness and triggering an even worse crisis, reports the Wall Street Journal. The issue is what economists call moral hazard: protecting someone too...

Four in 10 US Kids Can Balance Books

First national test reveals exposure to economic ideas

(Newser) - A new national test reveals that four in 10 U.S. high school students can grasp economic concepts like tariffs, banking and investment—a result that one expert says is “not discouraging.” Results showed that three in five students can point to factors that increase national debt while...

China Threatens to Crash Dollar
China Threatens to Crash Dollar
Aug 8, 2007 5:04 AM CDT

China Threatens to Crash Dollar

(Newser) - The Chinese government is threatening to crash the American dollar by liquidating its $1.33 trillion in foreign reserves if the US dares impose trade sanctions to force a revaluation of yuan, reports the Telegraph. Two Communist Party officials have given interviews in recent days with stern warnings directed at...

Hong Kong Poised to Become Asia's Big Apple

Port city turning into financial capital

(Newser) - Hong Kong is in decline as Asia's premier shipping hub, but the dip in dockyard activity is nothing to fret over, Newsweek reports. The city is on the brink of becoming one of the world's financial capitals—on par with London and New York. Economic shifts are reconfiguring the political...

A Steak-House View of the Economy
A Steak-House View of the Economy
May 30, 2007 4:01 PM CDT

A Steak-House View of the Economy

Ribeyes are grreat predictors of business performance, says Daniel Gross

(Newser) - High-end steak houses like Ruth's Chris and Peter Luger are a great place to study trends affecting the US economy, argues Slate's Daniel Gross. The price of sirloin, for instance, reflects the recent spike in energy prices, as demand for ethanol has raised the price of corn, which is what...

Top Executive Salaries Soar
Top Executive Salaries Soar
May 25, 2007 8:00 AM CDT

Top Executive Salaries Soar

Gap between the CEO and the cubicle is wider than ever

(Newser) - The top bananas of the corporate world are taking in more income in relation to their immediate subordinates than ever before, the Times reports. Wealth is concentrating among the business elite but staying somewhat stagnant among more middling execs—the average gap between #1 and #3 has more than tripled...

Men No Longer Doing Better Than Their Fathers

Study shows American men in their 30s earning 12% less than dads did study,

(Newser) - American men in their 30s are doing worse than their fathers did financially, a change from just 10 years ago and a reversal of the expectation that each generation will exceed the success of their parents. In 2004, the median income for a man in his 30s, adjusted for inflation,...

Layoffs Sink Stock Prices, Says Study

Forget the Seven Percent Rule; workforce morale critical to value

(Newser) - Economists have long doubted the precept that cutting a company's payroll will lead to a spike in its stock price. But try telling that to CEOs, who are still trying to emulate the turnarounds achieved by G.E. and Proctor & Gamble. Now, a study reveals that markets actually have...

Small Towns to Chain Stores: Let Us Shop!

Little places lure big retailers at annual shopping convention

(Newser) - Small towns and exurbs are bending over backwards to woo national retail chains, Governing magazine reports from the International Council of Shopping Centers' convention. Phalanxes of city reps descend on the dizzingly massive—and cutthroat—annual spring conference in Vegas, attempting to raise their profile and land a Pottery Barn...

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