RestaurantPerformanceIndexdeclinesinAugust http://feedly.com/k/19iGcsp From the National Restaurant Association: RestaurantPerformanceIndexEdgedDowninAugustAmidFadingOperatorExpectations Due to a softer outlook among restaurant operators for sales growth and the economy, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) declined for the third consecutive month. The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stoodat 100.5 inAugust, down 0.2 percentfromJuly’slevelof 100.7. Despite the … Seguir leyendo Restaurant Performance Index declines in August

FEDS Notes – WhyHaveAmericans’ IncomeExpectationsDeclined So Sharply? http://feedly.com/k/1658QAK shared via http://feedly.com Seguir leyendo FEDS Notes – Why Have Americans’ Income Expectations Declined So Sharply?

GovernmentIsLargelyResponsibleforSoaringInequality http://feedly.com/k/1dPQ6XA It’sNotanAccident … It’sPolicy America is experiencing unprecedented inequality. And a who’swhoofprominenteconomists (andinvestors) say that inequality is hurting the economy. Defenders of the status quo pretend that this inequality is something outside of our control … like a force of nature. They argue that it’s due to globalization, technological innovation or something else outside of policy-makers’ control. In reality, inequality is rising due to … Seguir leyendo Government Is Largely Responsible for Soaring Inequality

CheatSheetonInequality http://feedly.com/k/17aYjUt TheStunningTruthAboutInequalityInAmerica Talk about inequality has been in the news recently, but you won’t believe what’s really happening in America today: Inequality in America today is [youtube http://youtube.com/w/?v=QPKKQnijnsM][youtube http://youtube.com/w/?v=QPKKQnijnsM] in our country. They will be shocked – and may be furious – when they learn the truth It’s a myth that conservatives accept runaway inequality. Conservatives are as concerned as liberals regarding the stunning … Seguir leyendo Cheat Sheet on Inequality

TheClosedSocietyandItsFriends: Friedman, HayekandtheriseofNeoliberalism http://feedly.com/k/164rR6r I just wrote a review of Daniel Stedman Jones’s book MastersoftheUniverse: Hayek, Friedman, andtheBirthof Neoliberal Politics, which will be published in the Social ScienceJournal later this year. So I don’t intend to say to much here. But one thing that was striking about the rise of the post-New Deal Neoliberalism, starting with the Mont Pelerin Society, is that they tended to … Seguir leyendo The Closed Society and Its Friends: Friedman, Hayek and the rise of Neoliberalism

An historicRussianvictory http://feedly.com/k/165Ir5O KindlytranslatedbyAnne-Marie de Grazia Credit Photo: La Voix de la Russie The vote in the Security Council of the United Nations during the night of Friday 27 to Saturday 28 September of the résolution on chemical armaments in Syria, co-sponsored by Russia and the United States, constitutes an important moment in the reconstruction of an international order. This vote, at the unanimity of … Seguir leyendo An historic Russian victory

TheRegressivePoliticsofQuantitativeEasing http://feedly.com/k/1fwr2cF FromUnconventionalEconomist, who has previouslyworkedattheAustralianTreasury, VictorianTreasuryandGoldmanSachs. CrosspostedfromMacroBusiness, originallypublishedatTheConversation. When financial markets stood on the verge of collapse in the summer of 2008, two of the world’s most important central banks, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, began considering unorthodox policy measures. They turned to QuantitativeEasing, or QE: injecting money into the economy by purchasing assets from the private sector, in the … Seguir leyendo The Regressive Politics of Quantitative Easing

CNBCAdmitsEconomicPessimismSurgedTo 2 YearHighs http://feedly.com/k/1dODxfc You know it’s getting troubling when everyone’s favorite hopium-providing financial-advisor-pitchfest channel is unable to find a silver-lining upon which to place your BTHFATH 401(k) bets. Steve Liesman unveiled the CNBCAll–AmericanEconomicSurvey and it was not pretty. In a nutshell, optimism is plunging and pessimism is surging as 61% are downbeatonthecurrentstateoftheeconomyandpessimisticfortheeconomicfuture. ViaCNBC, … Smaller expected gains in Americans’ paycheck and housing values cast … Seguir leyendo CNBC Admits Economic Pessimism Surged To 2 Year Highs

GreatStartinGermany: ThreeDaysAfterElectionVictory, Merkel’sParty Breaks CampaignPromiseOf “No TaxHikes” http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/9/28/great–start–in–germany–three–days–after–election–victory–mer.html Germans pay a lot of taxes. The value added tax was raised to 19%. The state grabs 42% of any income above €52,882 and 45% above €250,731. There’s the church tax, solidarity tax, gasoline tax…. Not much is left over when a German is done paying taxes. So, during the campaign, Chancellor Merkel’s party pledged categorically not … Seguir leyendo Great Start in Germany: Three Days After Election Victory, Merkel’s Party Breaks Campaign Promise Of “No Tax Hikes”

DebtCeilingWatch http://feedly.com/k/1fP2FEK From WSJ, a picture of rising risk perception surrounding a debt ceiling crisis: Source: WSJ shared via http://feedly.com Seguir leyendo Debt Ceiling Watch