The Stash
If You Read Just One Piece About the Fed...
Read this one by Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho of The Washington Post. It's just a terrific piece of financial journalism for a popular audience. READ MORE >>
Worth Reading
Examination shows New Century didn't relax its lending standards. Should we be optimistic about the increase in temp hiring? Justin Fox is leaving Time for the Harvard Business Review. READ MORE >>
Do We Even Have a Manufacturing Problem?
Bullish on the Job Market? Not So Fast.
Last week I noted the evolving thinking on unemployment and the recovery--in particular, the growing number of analysts who think the job numbers might increase pretty quickly over the next several months. The most compelling argument I'd read came courtesy of a Deutsche Bank report arguing that companies overshot with their layoffs during the recession, so they'd have to hire more than the increase in GDP would normally justify during the recovery. READ MORE >>
Why Do German and Japanese Manufacturers Innovate More?
In my piece today about the ways the American managerial class has failed the U.S. manufacturing sector, I included a slightly elliptical riff about the superiority of managers in other advanced economies: "By contrast, European and Japanese manufacturers, who lived and died on the strength of their exports, innovated relentlessly." READ MORE >>
The Fed's Exit Strategy Could Be Graceful
There's been much hullabaloo over the Fed's ability to quickly remove the hundreds of billions of dollars it has pumped into the financial system after the economy recovers, but before the increased money supply sparks inflation. READ MORE >>
Worth Reading
Bernanke explains (unconvincingly) why the Fed won't consider an inflation target. Bob McTeer on why we should've been more optimistic about TARP. READ MORE >>
Should Bernanke Be Time's Person of the Year?
Before I answer that question, let me recommend Mike Grunwald's excellent cover story for the Person of the Year issue. It's a great introduction to Bernanke for readers who aren't economics or finance nerds, but you'll find it compelling even if you are such a person. I especially agree with Grunwald's verdict on Bernanke as crisis-manager: READ MORE >>
Worth Reading
Bernanke first Fed chair to be named Time's Person of the Year. Luigi Zingales wants targeted Tobin tax on short-term debt. Andrew Gelman rips into Steve Levitt's statistical thinking. READ MORE >>
