Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
(Bloomberg) — The economy in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace than forecast in the fourth quarter as cooling business investment, a slump in government outlays and a widening trade gap took some of the luster off the biggest gain in consumer spending in almost nine years. Gross domestic product grew at a 2.6…
(Bloomberg) — Companies that defaulted for a second time in the years following the latest recession accounted for more than twice the proportion of total defaults than the historical average, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Firms that missed payments on obligations more than once due to debt swaps or bankruptcy reorganizations, made up 39 percent…
Illustration by Alex Eben Meyer Much ink has been spilled railing against vaccine skeptics—you know, those people who don’t get their kids immunized against catastrophic childhood diseases because they believe the shots can cause autism and other serious problems. In a recent Parade magazine piece, reporter Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus: A True…
WOODINVILLE, Wash.—Five years ago, Quadrant Homes churned out starter houses in the Seattle area with an average sales price of $269,000 and the marketing slogan, “More House, Less Money.” But facing a debt-burdened middle class and rising land prices, Quadrant has since exchanged entry-level buyers for customers free of credit worries and ready to splurge….
article start American families have made big strides repairing their balance sheets from the economic crash, but their finances remain disturbingly vulnerable to emergencies—a major obstacle to economic mobility, a new report says. About 70% of U.S. households are struggling with at least one of three problems with their balance sheets—low incomes, insufficient savings or…
Economist Edward Wolff’s latest paper on household wealth during the Great Recession has some really startling data on who gained and lost ground between 1983 and 2013. Alisha Ramos turned it into this striking chart: US net worth rose considerably over that period, which is what you would expect to see. Technology has improved and productivity…
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has attacked eurozone austerity. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has launched a strong attack on austerity in the eurozone as he warned that he single-currency area was caught in a debt trap that could cost it a second lost decade. Speaking in Dublin, Carney…
(Bloomberg) — The business of bundling riskier U.S. mortgages into bonds without government backing is gearing up for a comeback. Just don’t call it subprime. Hedge fund Seer Capital Management, money manager Angel Oak Capital and Sydney-based bank Macquarie Group Ltd. are among firms buying up loans to borrowers who can’t qualify for conventional mortgages…
The UK is becoming a nation of grafters. With living standards at their lowest in a decade and real-term wages falling 8 per cent since the financial crisis, more people are cramming extra work into evenings, weekends and even their lunch hours to supplement their main incomes. Officially, the average number of hours Britons work each week…
Alexis Tsipras, center, leader of Greece’s Syriza left-wing main opposition waves to his supporters after voting at a polling station in Athens on Sunday. Petros Giannakouris/AP hide caption itoggle caption Petros Giannakouris/AP Alexis Tsipras, center, leader of Greece’s Syriza left-wing main opposition waves to his supporters after voting at a polling station in Athens on…