The Woodward Report
Economics
UN Wants New Global Currency to Replace Dollar
(London Telegraph) The dollar should be replaced with a global currency, the United Nations has said, proposing the biggest overhaul of the world's monetary system since the Second World War. In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which...
(CATO Journal) The United States and many other countries are now experiencing the first major financial crisis in over 75 years, a condition that too many people have been quick to blame on an outbreak of greed that they claim is characteristic of capitalism. Blaming a financial crisis on greed, however, is like blaming airplane crashes on gravity...
SEC’s Kotz Offers Steps to Help Prevent Next Madoff
(Bloomberg) U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission’s internal
watchdog may recommend more than
40 actions aimed at improving
investigations and examinations after
the agency missed Bernard Madoff’s...
Despite the Doubters, It’s Still Top Dollar
(The American) There has been much
chatter of late in the media about the
inevitability of the Chinese renminbi
eventually replacing the U.S. dollar as
Whatever Happened to the Work Ethic?
(Manhattan Institute) The financial
bust reminds us that free markets
require a constellation of moral virtues.
In Democracy in America, Alexis de
Tocqueville worried that free, capitalist
societies might develop so great a
“taste for physical gratification”...
Obama Proposes College Finance Overhaul
(Forbes) The Obama administration
released two proposals on
Wednesday that may change how
middle-class families pay for college.
The goal of the suggested changes is
to expand the use of state and federal
programs by low- and middle-income...
How market capitalism saved the Jewish state
(City Journal) The most precious
esource in the world economy is
human genius, which we may define
as the ability to devise significant
inventions that enhance survival and
prosperity. At any one time, genius...
Recession's Toll: Incomes Fall, Poverty Rises
(Wall Street Journal) The recession
has slashed families' earnings,
increased poverty and left more
people without health insurance,
according to the Census Bureau's
annual snapshot of living standards.
The report Thursday offered sharp...
(Forbes) In 1931—before he was
befuddled by Keynesian economics
John Maynard Keynes explained
that "The fall in prices relative to
costs, together with the psychological
effect of high taxation has destroyed
the necessary incentive to...
Economist Thomas Sowell on the Stimulus Plan
Killing the Entrepreneurial Spirit: Government Is Not a Good Investor
(Heritage.org) President Barack Obama calls his stimulus bill and proposed budget an "investment" plan, implicitly recognizing that investment--rather than simply spending--creates economic growth. But this plan is based on the faulty assumption that only government is able and responsible enough to invest at this time...
Inflation Scare: Crazy but Real
(American Enterprise Institute) The recent steps by the Federal Reserve to preempt deflation have--ironically and unexpectedly--prompted a surge in inflation fears both inside the United States and abroad, especially in China. Specifically, the Fed's measures to go beyond the stimulus inherent in a zero percent federal funds rate by purchasing Treasury and mortgage securities has...
2010 Budget Resolution Raises Taxes and Hurts Economic Recovery
(Heritage.org) Congress recently
passed the fiscal year (FY) 2010
budget resolution, which sets broad
guidelines for specific policies that it
will formulate in the coming months. The
resolution includes several provisions...
Why Not Negative Interest Rates?
(The American) John Makin’s April
Economic Outlook observed that
with the theoretically right monetary
policy for present economic
circumstances, the fed funds rate
would be significantly negative.
However, we run up against the...
(Forbes) The financiers in Beijing
are getting a little leery of dollars
and are accumulating gold just in
case.You should do likewise.Want
to know where the real action will be
over the coming months? Forget
stocks, think foreign exchange...
Islam and the Free-Market Economy
(Institute of Economic Affairs) Just as
Muslim Spain was able to develop the
institutions that allowed Muslims,
Jews and Christians to prosper side
by side under Muslim rule, the
success in Dubai sets a precedent by
which the Muslim world can retain...
(Reason.com) "The Waxman-Markey
bill will create jobs by spurring
investment in renewables and
efficiency." So declared the liberal
Center for American Progress as it
announced support for the new cap-
and-trade climate change bill...
(City Journal) The word for
“crisis” in Chinese,weiji, is
written with two characters: one
(wei) means danger; the other (ji)
means opportunity. That’s
because every crisis challenges the
status quo and in so doing creates
Chinese Foreign Investment: Insist on Transparency
(Heritage.org) The current financial crisis further highlights the role of Chinese bond investment in the U.S. economy and prompts questions about whether Chinese investment in equities or other assets would be helpful in addition. Some in Congress are concerned that China will stop buying American bonds. At the same time, there...
A Market Solution to Secure Banks' Future
(Financial Times) How long will the
US economy live with a banking
system in which some institutions are
too big to fail ? Not long, we should
all hope, because large banks today,
under federal protection, can raise
short-term funds more cheaply than...
Goldman Sachs: The Great American Bubble Machine
(Rolling Stone) From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression NOTE: The first link will take you to the Rolling Stone website which gives you excerpts and a video. CLICK HERE to read the entire article as it appears in the magazine
China Global Investment Tracker
(Heritage.org) China's role in the global financial arena is becoming increasingly important to the United States and the worldwide community. The China Global Investment Tracker created by The Heritage Foundation is the only available comprehensive dataset relating to large Chinese foreign investments and construction contracts in all areas of the world...
