Monthly Archives: February 2014

(Originally published here.) The 1.3 percent decline in the Chinese yuan against the dollar during the past week says little about China’s long-term growth outlook and a lot about the central bank’s willingness to flex its muscles. To understand why, … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) Millions of homes have gone through foreclosure since the housing market peaked about seven years ago, mainly in the Sunbelt bubble states. According to Bloomberg News, New Jersey is now the state with the greatest share of mortgages either … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) There are a few things to like in the House Ways and Means Committee’s new tax plan. The same can’t be said of a proposal to punish makers of violent video games, presumably because of the harm they cause children. … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) The Wall Street Journal’s colorful account of managerial tensions at the Pacific Investment Management Co. has led Felix Salmon to argue that legendary bond investor Bill Gross should retire. According to Salmon, the article makes Gross out to be an … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) GRAPHIC: BLOOMBERG VISUAL DATA   For more than a decade, the U.S. housing market has been on a wild ride — from bubble to bust to recovery. CHECK OUT this interactive data visualization explaining what happened and why.  (Matthew … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) Netflix Inc. agreed to pay Comcast Corp. an undisclosed sum over the weekend to ensure faster and more reliable connections. This deal should be good news for millions of consumers, at least in the short term: According … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) It was ugly today for Groupon Inc. shares: They tumbled 22 percent, shaving off about $1.5 billion in market value. This followed yesterday’s financial report, which showed that rising costs at the online discount company negated the benefit … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) We’ll never be sure whether the Federal Reserve’s low short-term interest rates and trillions of dollars of bond purchases have helped more than they hurt. Whatever the historians conclude, the Fed’s monetary policy now looks loose. If that’s … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) A specter is haunting the U.S.: No matter where you look, the flow of information — whether it’s downloads of hit films or signal capacity that might make auto travel safer — seems to be getting choked … Continue reading →

(Originally published here.) Robert Gordon, an economist at Northwestern University, has made a name for himself as the seer of stagnation: In his estimation, real incomes for most Americans willgrow little if at all during the next few decades. Erik Brynjolffson … Continue reading →