November 29, 2012
So Joe Biden Walks Into a Costco… Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. It may be tough to tell. [Image: AP]

So Joe Biden Walks Into a Costco…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. It may be tough to tell.

[Image: AP]


12:35pm
(Notes: 484)
  
Filed under: Joe Biden Vice President Costco Economy Washington D.C. 
November 29, 2012
Mr. China Comes to America For decades, every trend in manufacturing favored the developing world and worked against the United States. But new tools that greatly speed up development from idea to finished product encourage start-up companies to locate here, not in Asia. Could global trade winds finally be blowing toward America again? Read more. [Image: David Hogsholt]

Mr. China Comes to America

For decades, every trend in manufacturing favored the developing world and worked against the United States. But new tools that greatly speed up development from idea to finished product encourage start-up companies to locate here, not in Asia. Could global trade winds finally be blowing toward America again?

Read more. [Image: David Hogsholt]

11:06am
(Notes: 47)
  
Filed under: China Manufacturing Foxconn Apple U.S. Economy Trade 
November 20, 2012

In Focus: Chinese Architecture, Old and New

The growth of China’s massive population has slowed in recent years, but migration to urban areas has increased, with almost half of China’s 1.3 billion people living in or near cities. A booming economy, government housing initiatives, infrastructure programs, and private real estate speculation have all driven construction to record levels. New apartment, office, and government buildings regularly rise up over older neighborhoods, and thousands have relocated to modern housing complexes. The blend of old and new Chinese architecture is ever-present in cities and villages, as older buildings are torn down and newer ones built at ever faster rates. The images below show glimpses of Chinese architecture, both traditional and modern, as it appears today.

See more. [Images: AP, Reuters]

3:13pm
(Notes: 162)
  
Filed under: Architecture Art China Economy 
November 2, 2012
Why the October Jobs Report Is Even Better Than It Looks Bottom line: Whoever wins on Tuesday inherits an economy that is still awfully weak and a jobs recovery that’s clearly gaining momentum [Image: calculatedriskblog.com]

Why the October Jobs Report Is Even Better Than It Looks

Bottom line: Whoever wins on Tuesday inherits an economy that is still awfully weak and a jobs recovery that’s clearly gaining momentum

[Image: calculatedriskblog.com]

1:27pm
(Notes: 98)
  
Filed under: Jobs Unemployment Economy Chart Politics Election 2012 
October 24, 2012
How Millennials Could Save the Economy Young people are the lazy, smelly scapegoat of the recession. They’re not working, they’re living at home, they’re constantly complaining about their debt, they’re not buying cars or houses, and they’re not even having babies. But there is an outside chance that The Twentysomething, the media’s favorite economic whipping boy, is poised to become the hero of the recovery, and it all comes down to two words. Household formation. Read more. [Image: Ivy Zelman]

How Millennials Could Save the Economy

Young people are the lazy, smelly scapegoat of the recession. They’re not working, they’re living at home, they’re constantly complaining about their debt, they’re not buying cars or houses, and they’re not even having babies.

But there is an outside chance that The Twentysomething, the media’s favorite economic whipping boy, is poised to become the hero of the recovery, and it all comes down to two words. Household formation.

Read more. [Image: Ivy Zelman]

11:46am
(Notes: 130)
  
Filed under: Economics Economy Housing News Recession Millennials 
October 22, 2012
Older Workers are Keeping the Young Out of Jobs While unemployment has soared in Europe and elsewhere, at least one group has weathered the unemployment crisis fairly well: older workers. Then again, that may be a bad thing. The percentage of people over 60 in the workforce has climbed steadily over the past decade. Partly it’s about 60 being the new 50, but it’s also about rising costs of living, a lack of savings, and people clinging to jobs out of fear over disappearing pensions. Between 2001 and 2011, the employment rate for people between 60 and 64 years of age in OECD countries increased to 43.1% from 35.8% (chart below). For people between 65 and 69, it rose to 22.8% from 17.5%, over the same period. This spells bad news for young people. Read more. [Image: OECD]

Older Workers are Keeping the Young Out of Jobs

While unemployment has soared in Europe and elsewhere, at least one group has weathered the unemployment crisis fairly well: older workers.

Then again, that may be a bad thing.

The percentage of people over 60 in the workforce has climbed steadily over the past decade. Partly it’s about 60 being the new 50, but it’s also about rising costs of living, a lack of savings, and people clinging to jobs out of fear over disappearing pensions. Between 2001 and 2011, the employment rate for people between 60 and 64 years of age in OECD countries increased to 43.1% from 35.8% (chart below). For people between 65 and 69, it rose to 22.8% from 17.5%, over the same period.

This spells bad news for young people.

Read more. [Image: OECD]

5:40pm
(Notes: 111)
  
Filed under: News Jobs Employment Economy Economics 
October 3, 2012
"I believe that the costs of building and maintaining a great country should be shared by all of us, beginning with the people who benefit the most from our society. I believe that people like me (and people who are far wealthier) should pay more in taxes."

— A “job creator” speaks.

12:52pm
(Notes: 89)
  
Filed under: Economy Election 2012 Politics Jobs Taxes 
September 24, 2012
5 Non-Partisan Job Creation Ideas That Could Actually Work Address the housing market overhang with a new visa mechanism The problem: Approximately 20 percent of homeowners owe more on their home than it’s worth. Households have depleted their savings and taken on additional debt in an attempt to remain in their homes, while many have decided to stop making mortgage payments. Rising shadow foreclosure inventory (delinquent homes that are not yet on the market), the prospect of falling prices, and tight loan requirements continue to exacerbate the housing overhang. The solution: In order to absorb inventory, put a floor under housing prices or possibly boost them. Capitalize on pent-up foreign demand, by creating a new visa mechanism for the first two million non-U.S. residents to purchase a home in the U.S. in the price range of $200-500K, depending upon regional housing prices. Set the residency requirements at three months for the program to have maximum impact. Read more. [Image: Reuters]

5 Non-Partisan Job Creation Ideas That Could Actually Work

Address the housing market overhang with a new visa mechanism

The problem: Approximately 20 percent of homeowners owe more on their home than it’s worth. Households have depleted their savings and taken on additional debt in an attempt to remain in their homes, while many have decided to stop making mortgage payments. Rising shadow foreclosure inventory (delinquent homes that are not yet on the market), the prospect of falling prices, and tight loan requirements continue to exacerbate the housing overhang.

The solution: In order to absorb inventory, put a floor under housing prices or possibly boost them. Capitalize on pent-up foreign demand, by creating a new visa mechanism for the first two million non-U.S. residents to purchase a home in the U.S. in the price range of $200-500K, depending upon regional housing prices. Set the residency requirements at three months for the program to have maximum impact.

Read more. [Image: Reuters]

12:36pm
(Notes: 78)
  
Filed under: Jobs Economy Housing Politics 
September 17, 2012
The End of Global Warming: How to Save the Earth in 2 Easy Steps Global warming might still destroy the world. But technology has given us a fighting chance and this has big implications for at least four groups of people: Environmentalists, conservatives, economists, and policymakers. Read more. [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

The End of Global Warming: How to Save the Earth in 2 Easy Steps

Global warming might still destroy the world. But technology has given us a fighting chance and this has big implications for at least four groups of people: Environmentalists, conservatives, economists, and policymakers.

Read more. [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

4:21pm
(Notes: 74)
  
Filed under: Environment Economy Politics Climate change 
September 17, 2012
Happy Birthday Occupy! Income Inequality Is Still Getting Worse. Occupy Wall Street may well have been the first global protest movement to rally around a statistic cribbed from an economics paper. So to mark its one year anniversary today, I thought I’d break out some of the latest numbers tracking U.S. inequality, courtesy of this month’s Census Bureau recent report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage.  From 2010 to 2011, the top 5 percent of U.S. households upped their share of the country’s income by 5.3 percent. The top 20 percent got a 1.6 percent bump. And while the country’s poorest saw their piece of the pie grow by a smidgen, the middle classes lost ground. Read more. [Image: Jordan Weissmann]

Happy Birthday Occupy! Income Inequality Is Still Getting Worse.

Occupy Wall Street may well have been the first global protest movement to rally around a statistic cribbed from an economics paper. So to mark its one year anniversary today, I thought I’d break out some of the latest numbers tracking U.S. inequality, courtesy of this month’s Census Bureau recent report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. 

From 2010 to 2011, the top 5 percent of U.S. households upped their share of the country’s income by 5.3 percent. The top 20 percent got a 1.6 percent bump. And while the country’s poorest saw their piece of the pie grow by a smidgen, the middle classes lost ground.

Read more. [Image: Jordan Weissmann]

3:32pm
(Notes: 176)
  
Filed under: News Occupy Occupy Wall Street Charts Economy Income inequality Politics 
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