US Economy

Nearly ten years ago, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld provoked outrage by referring to “Old Europe.” How dare he, snapped the French and Germans, call us “old” when the utopian European Union was all the rage, the new euro was soaring in value, and the United States was increasingly isolated [...]

Liberal groups use new SEC rule to try and limit free speech. Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision restored the First Amendment rights of businesses and unions, “disclosure” has become the watchword for Democrats hoping to muzzle political speech by corporations. The latest gambit is to intimidate companies via [...]

The EPA’s latest regulatory rule may be the most expensive ever. At an unusual gala ceremony on the release of a major new Environmental Protection Agency rule yesterday, chief Lisa Jackson called it “historic” and “a great victory.” And she’s right: The rule may be the most expensive the agency [...]

Fitch Ratings on Wednesday warned again that the United States’ rising debt burden was not consistent with maintaining the country’s top AAA credit rating, but said there would likely be no decision on whether to cut the rating before 2013. Last month, Fitch changed its U.S. credit rating outlook to negative [...]

Economic growth forecasts in Asia paints a dour picture. LIKE most of the 30 years that preceded it, 2012 will be punctuated by statistical evidence of Asia’s growing weight in the world economy and by the West’s relative decline. Sober Asian policymakers, however, worry. In the short term, they know [...]

The right to better your lot in life. Congressman Paul Ryan recently coined a smart phrase to describe the core concept of economic freedom: “The right to rise.” Think about it. We talk about the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to assembly. The right [...]

Washington is 0 for 3 in doing the fiscally responsible thing for the year. Congressional leaders—fearful of voters’ wrath over Washington’s bickering and brinkmanship—stepped back Thursday from a possible government shutdown, clearing the way for extending a payroll tax cut that is set to expire at year’s end. The shift [...]

Blizzards, Earthquakes and Now No New Cool Toy.  Why the lack of a hit toy threatens retailers this Christmas. With Christmas less than two weeks away, the toy industry has no runaway hit — leaving many toy shoppers bored and complicating how stores sell holiday inventory. “We are not seeing [...]

An interesting take on additional lessons from the Depression “YOU’RE right, we did it,” Ben Bernanke told Milton Friedman in a speech celebrating the Nobel laureate’s 90th birthday in 2002. He was referring to Mr Friedman’s conclusion that central bankers were responsible for much of the suffering in the Depression. [...]

Why aren’t American leaders doing more to prepare the public for the worst? This is the worst-case scenario from Europe, and it just might come true: Italy defaults on its debts. Every major Italian bank collapses. Recession grips the eurozone. Sovereign defaults and bank failures ripple across the Continent. Saddled [...]