Press Briefing

Sep 02, 2010

What Do We Know About the Impact of Remittances on Financial Development?
http://blogs.worldbank.org/allaboutfinance/what-do-we-know-about-the-impact-of-remittances-on-financial-development

Teachers for Coverups - The Wall Street Journal applauds the L.A. Times's decision to publish evaluations of public school teachers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463841606641572.html

Briefing on U.S. Government's Continued Efforts to Disrupt and Dismantle Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/2010/146597.htm

The Lawfare Wars - The al-Nashiri bugout, and attack of the killer lawyers—on drones
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463721720570734.html

The White House - Continued Recovery for America’s Agricultural Economy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/01/continued-recovery-america-s-agricultural-economy

If Saddam Had Stayed - Saddam would have joined the nuclear bad-boys club with Iran and North Korea
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465721991599994.html

The White House - Forging Ahead on Middle East Peace Talks
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/01/forging-ahead-middle-east-peace-talks

Projects To Develop Novel Monitoring Networks for Advanced Power Systems Selected
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2010/10040-Projects_To_Develop_Novel_Monitori.html

Update: US Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/146606.htm

Some Coal-Fired Power Plants Were Built Last Year, is This the Start of a New Trend or Are New Coal Plants Dead?
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2010/09/01/some-coal-fired-power-plants-were-built-last-year-is-this-the-start-of-a-new-trend-or-are-new-coal-plants-dead/

White House - New Resources for Employers and Unions to Help Keep Health Coverage Accessible and Affordable
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/31/new-resources-employers-and-unions-help-keep-health-coverage-accessible-and-affordab

The administration's 'summer of recovery' has fizzled in almost every way imaginable. The growth rate is less than half what it was at this stage after the 1974-75 and 1981-82 recessions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465462926649950.html

Press Briefing

Sep 01, 2010

Bring Back the Estate Tax Now - Allowing it to lapse has cost us billions of dollars in revenue this year
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454073982825164.html

Shikha Dalmia on the General Motors IPO
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463972500361374.html

From the Desk of Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
http://www.state.gov/g/146541.htm

Letters From the Imam - Feisel Abdul Rauf on Israel and Iran
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451762406545760.html

Readout of President Obama’s Briefing Call with FEMA Administrator Fugate on the Preparations Being Made in Advance of Hurricane Earl
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/01/readout-president-obama-s-briefing-call-with-fema-administrator-fugate-p

Office 39, Call Office 99 - More useful pressure on North Korea
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463934062014778.html

Ben Rhodes Answers Your Questions About Iraq Following the President's Oval Address
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/31/ben-rhodes-answers-your-questions-about-iraq-following-presidents-oval-address

Conservatives: The Obama Doctrine
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/01/morning-bell-the-obama-doctrine

President Obama's Address on the End of the Combat Mission in Iraq
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/31/president-obamas-address-end-combat-mission-iraq

'Systemic Risk' Stonewall - Some bailout questions the Fed still hasn't answered
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463781244452958.html

It’s Time for Reality, Not Deadlines, in Iraq and Afghanistan
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/31/morning-bell-its-time-for-reality-not-deadlines-in-iraq-and-afghanistan

Press Briefing

Aug 31, 2010

Camille Paglia writes that pressuring middle-class young people into "word jobs" is cruelly shortsighted - "The elite schools, predicated on molding students into mirror images of their professors, seem divorced from any rational consideration of human happiness."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461691182268962.html

The White House - Economic Recovery for Small Businesses: Now is Not the Time to Pull Back
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/economic-recovery-small-businesses-now-not-time-pull-back

TARP and the Continuing Problem of Toxic Assets - It was a bold bet that the Treasury and Fed could engineer an economic recovery without allowing the repricing of US housing stock
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455951017059416.html

White House - Landmark: Number of Donut Hole Rebate Checks Passes One Million
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/landmark-number-donut-hole-rebate-checks-passes-one-million

Tire-d Old Trade Policies - You can't boost exports by trashing imports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703669004575458523112347824.html

Abolish tenure, require more teaching, put star professors online
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575460252029820466.html

The White House Blog - Agent Orange and Veterans: A 40-Year Wait
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/agent-orange-and-veterans-a-40-year-wait

J McCain: The Surge and Afghanistan - Unless he understands the reason for success in Iraq, the president is unlikely to lead a successful strategy against the Taliban
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575459983690019468.html

White House: Katrina - Five Years Later, Our Commitment Continues
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/five-years-later-our-commitment-continues

Why We Fought and What We Achieved - Saddam had launched multiple wars, used weapons of mass destruction and aided global terrorism. Now Iraq's government is an ally and represents all the Iraqi people.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461452331806476.html

Remarks on the 47th Anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" Speech. By Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism . Imam Yahya Hendi From Clergy Without Borders, Washington, DC, August 28, 2010

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2010/146434.htm

Social Security Bait and Switch - 'Harry, am I making this up?' Yes, Mr. President, you are.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461601764263106.html

IMF Enhances Crisis Prevention Toolkit
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10321.htm

Alvin Greene Mocks White House Staff As 'Harvard Rich Kids'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453211943767790.html

Press Briefing

Aug 30, 2010

Muslim: It was only after losing the fight for total state power against democracies and dictatorships alike that Islamists launched their war against the West
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453211943767790.html

Conservative: The World Trade Center Mosque and the Constitution
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455503946170176.html

Export Controls for the 21st Century - The current system is a legacy of the Cold War and fails to distinguish between low-tech items and the most advanced proprietary technology
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454313481209990.html

On the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) Tax Task Force Report
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/27/perab-tax-task-force-report

Jimmy Carter in Pyongyang - Back to the same old North Korean games
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703669004575458422510924854.html

Our Man in Caracas - Good news: Chávez doesn't like him
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449933853736568.html

Ten Fallacies About Web Privacy - We are not used to the Internet reality that something can be known and at the same time no person knows it
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455192488549362.html

Alinsky Wins at the SEC - A new proxy access rule will help activists and unions, not shareholders
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455791673609002.html

Kirchner's Assault on the Press - This week's target: Argentina's two most influential daily newspapers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455483542041338.html

The White House Blog - Preparing Workers for New Careers
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/27/lost-and-found-preparing-workers-new-careers

The Folly of Subsidizing Unemployment - My calculations suggest the jobless rate could be as low as 6.8%, instead of 9.5%, if jobless benefits hadn't been extended to 99 weeks
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454431457720188.html

Energy Dept: Setting the Record Straight on Weatherization
http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2010/08/27/setting-record-straight-weatherization

The $31 Billion Revenue Fantasy - Those who make $200,000 a year are 3% of all taxpayers but pay 52% of all income taxes
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703876404575200621394266894.html

The White House Blog - Helping New Orleans Rebuild Its Schools
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/28/helping-new-orleans-rebuild-its-schools

Spreading Hayek, Spurning Keynes - Professor Leads an Austrian Revival
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703418004575455911922562120.html

When Justice Comes Naturally - The Constitution can 'live' without losing its core meanings. Review of Hadley Arkes's Constitutional Illusions & Anchoring Truths.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575448761803060070.html

The 1.6% Recovery - The results of the Obama economic experiment are coming in
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455823740024224.html

Remarks by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/29/remarks-president-fifth-anniversary-hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-louisi

Lebanon's parliament amended a 1946 law that had been used to bar the 400,000 Palestinians living in the country from taking any but the most menial jobs
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435933047619568.html

Press Briefing

Aug 27, 2010

USAID Launches Pakistan Flood Relief Info Sharing on “Humari Awaz” Cell Phone Network
http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/site/entry/pakistan_flood_relief_info_sharing_humari_awaz

A new study confirms what I've been saying for decades: Paying high fees to fund managers is the route to lower returns
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447531979322798.html

The SEC's Sop to Unions - Under the new rules, average shareholders won't muster the numbers to influence corporate elections
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451343422958522.html

A Challenge for WTC Mosque Opponents - The rights of American Muslims are being questioned in other locations. Will Gingrich and Palin speak out on their behalf?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453123857886644.html

Blanche Lincoln's Last Earmark: changes to Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) - The spending problem, in profile
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449422819519354.html

Protecting Medicare Benefits and Offering Clear Choices for Seniors
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/26/protecting-medicare-benefits-and-offering-clear-choices-seniors

Intel's Otellini: "the next big thing will not be invented here. Jobs will not be created here. And wealth will not accrue here. Ultimately, we will face an inevitable erosion and shift of wealth—much like we are witnessing today in Europe."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453803561625516.html

Women's Equality Day and the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/26/womens-equality-day-and-90th-anniversary-19th-amendment

Scapegoating For-Profit Colleges - Obama tees up another private industry for punishment
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704407804575425830335709738.html

200,000 Homes Weatherized Under the Recovery Act
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/26/200000-homes-weatherized-under-recovery-act

Time for Obama to Pull a Clinton - When I met with the president in early 1995, I warned him he would not be re-elected unless he changed his reputation
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453450250159546.html

UN mapping report leaked: Crime of genocide against Hutu center of controversy
http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2010/08/un-mapping-report-leaked-crime-of.html

Public Pensions and Our Fiscal Future - Few Californians in the private sector have $1 million in savings, but that's effectively the retirement account they guarantee to many government employees
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449813071709510.html

Press Briefing

Aug 26, 2010

Jared Bernstein on Republicans, the Recovery Act and "jobs created or saved"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/25/increasingly-awkward-dance

The Military Should Mirror the Nation - America's Armed Forces are drawn from an increasingly narrow segment of society
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451531529098478.html

Five Principles to Make “Contingent Capital” More Like Capital and Less Contingent
http://www.cambridgewinter.org/Cambridge_Winter/Archives/Entries/2010/8/25_NOW_MORE_ABSORBENT!.html

Stop the Madness - Washington is spending the country into economic decline
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449961346648370.html

The IRS Targets Incompetent Tax Preparers - That's good news. But the agency is going overboard
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447873306166034.html

U.S. Provides $50 Million in Early Recovery Aid to Pakistan Flood Victims
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2010/pr100825_1.html

Big Foot on Campus - Why colleges want a waiver from ObamaCare
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451710632099560.html

Minutes of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy July 2010 Official Meeting
http://www.state.gov/r/adcompd/146252.htm

Oil Spill & The Gulf Claims Racket - The lawyers are upset they aren't getting more of the action
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449692864994262.html

A Muslim Reformer on the Mosque - The warriors for tolerance and the antimosque crusaders are both wrong
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451433090488678.html

The Fed Is Running Low on Ammo - It still has options if more monetary easing is needed. But they're not very effective
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575448022122679194.html

IMF Paper: Can Global Liquidity Forecast Asset Prices?
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=24164.0

The White House is having a disastrous 'summer of recovery.'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451502211231456.html

Press Briefing

Aug 25, 2010

Working Together To Save Lives in India
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/india_leh_flooding

Cleaning Up the Mortgage Mess - Obama's program to help homeowners has unfortunately made things worse
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704075604575356663725805580.html

Countering Piracy: International Partnership Achieves Steady Progress
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/piracy_international_partnership_progress

Our Blue-Collar Great Depression - American workers who are less well-educated need a lifeline until new opportunities emerge.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704023404575429864088150270.html

The Case for Economic Optimism - Investment in equipment and software is strong, as is the outlook for exports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703995104575389041193020822.html

Why the Senate Should Block 'New Start' - The nuclear treaty is the first step toward unilateral disarmament
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405634208565808.html

U.S. Government Hosts Conference on Improving Southern Sudan's Agriculture
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2010/pr100824.html

The Trial Bar Heads to Iraq - A lawsuit that would create civil damages for wartime decisions
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447613501672210.html

Wireless in Gaza - If young Palestinians have access to better information today, they may make better decisions tomorrow
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435923218083624.html

Human Rights Kowtow - The Obama Administration makes itself an accomplice to U.N. corruption
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449960554393200.html

Vice President Biden Releases Report on Recovery Act Impact on Innovation
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/24/vice-president-biden-releases-report-recovery-act-impact-innovation

The Housing Mirage - Homeowner subsidies have only delayed the day of reckoning
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449751158395676.html

The Afghanistan War Is Mainly About Pakistan and India - Actually, it's about the whole region.
http://www.slate.com/id/2264918/

Putting the Brakes on ObamaCare  How a Republican Congress could begin the process of repealing this unpopular law
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437271015655924.html

Press Briefing

Aug 24, 2010

The White House Blog - Their Economic Policies Haven’t Changed, So They Won’t Bring the Change We Need
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/24/their-economic-policies-haven-t-changed-so-they-won-t-bring-change-we-need

Wind Power Won't Cool Down the Planet - Often enough it leads to higher carbon emissions
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703792704575366700528078676.html

White House: 31,000 Homes Weatherized in June
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/23/31000-homes-weatherized-june

Virginia Is for Surpluses - Erasing red ink without a tax increase
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703579804575442063233671300.html

The White House Blog - Your Credit Card Bill of Rights Now in Full Effect
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/23/your-credit-card-bill-rights-now-full-effect

The Politics of Plastic - The war against credit cards is raising costs and harming consumers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447613154049510.html

Identified a family of retroviruses in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (update)
http://digs.by/cFFWeq

Cracks in the Iranian Monolith - Opposition is spreading in the streets, in prisons, and even in the military
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704017904575409611936612020.html

Like Bush, Not Clinton, Obama Follows His Heart Not Polls
http://blogs.wsj.com/capitaljournal/2010/08/22/like-bush-not-clinton-obama-follows-his-heart-not-polls/

Press Briefing

Aug 23, 2010

Lorenz Of Arabia - As a wartime strategy, Germany tried to foment a Grand Jihad in Muslim lands
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703461504575444532238358048.html

The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility - The idea that companies have a duty to address social ills is not just flawed, argues Aneel Karnani. It also makes it more likely that we'll ignore the real solutions to these problems.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338004575230112664504890.html

The White House Blog - At the Indiana State Fair: Farmers, The First Entrepreneurs
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/20/indiana-state-fair-farmers-first-entrepreneurs

The Guns of August, 1990 - The last 20 years would have been very different had American forces taken that open road to Baghdad the first time around
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703589404575417820146420794.html

Reducing Energy Costs while Creating Green Jobs for Americans, by Secretary Shaun Donovan
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/20/reducing-energy-costs-while-creating-green-jobs-americans

Australian Boomerang - Another big spending center-left party loses its majority
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703461504575442693926568832.html

President Obama Challenges Politicians Benefiting from Citizens United Ruling to Defend Corporate Influence in Our Elections
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/21/weekly-address-president-obama-challenges-politicians-benefiting-citizen

ObamaCare's Tax on Taxes - The latest gambit to punish for-profit health insurers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435473272964804.html

How States Hide Their Budget Deficits - The SEC's charges against New Jersey for misleading investors should warn other states against sweeping the truth under the rug
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703579804575441240180244472.html

Iran Unveils New Drone
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704504204575444872540980904.html

Treasury Concludes Three Weeks of Global Engagement with Governments, Private Sector on Iran
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg835.htm

$4.4 Trillion - That's how much the spending baseline has increased in 31 months
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439543402718272.html

Obama Administration Housing Scorecard Shows Continued Progress in Housing Market, but Challenges Remain
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg833.htm

Gates and Buffett Take the Pledge - Wealthy businessmen often feel obligated to 'give back.' Who says they've taken anything?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575438993318888822.html

Press Briefing

Aug 20, 2010

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/08/146107.htm

The Lockerbie Bomber and Scotland's Disgrace - A political stunt freed a mass murderer and brought needless grief to many in the US
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437221006992494.html

Bashing Beijing Will Not Help Our Trade Deficit - Higher wages, not a stronger yuan, will help Chinese workers and reduce US imports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704023404575429843465266202.html

State Dept: A Critical Milestone in Iraq
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/milestone_iraq

The SEC's Jersey Score - At last, a state gets hit for securities fraud
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439431857019668.html

Seniors Already Seeing Lower Prescription Drug Costs
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/18/seniors-already-seeing-lower-prescription-drug-costs

More Countrywide Loans - What Senate ethicists didn't tell us on Dodd
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435851680516676.html

Remarks by the President at a Discussion with Ohio Families on the Economy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/18/remarks-president-a-discussion-with-ohio-families-economy

Victory in Iraq  -American arms created a republic, if Iraqis can keep it
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439743828817562.html

An assessment of the long-term economic impact of stronger capital and liquidity requirements
FSB & BCBS, August 2010
http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs173.htm

The Basel Committee's assessment of the long-term economic impact finds that there are clear net long term economic benefits from increasing the minimum capital and liquidity requirements from their current levels in order to raise the safety and soundness of the global banking system. The benefits of higher capital and liquidity requirements accrue from reducing the probability of financial crisis and the output losses associated with such crises. The benefits substantially exceed the potential output costs for a range of higher capital and liquidity requirements.

The FSB-BCBS MAG assessment of the macroeconomic transition costs, prepared in close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, concludes that the transition to stronger capital and liquidity standards is likely to have a modest impact on aggregate output. If higher requirements are phased in over four years, the group estimates that each one percentage point increase in bank's actual ratio of tangible common equity to risk-weighted assets will lead to a decline in the level of GDP relative to its baseline path by about 0.20% after implementation is completed.  In terms of growth rates, this means that the annual growth rate would be reduced by an average of 0.04 percentage points over a four and a half year period, with a range of results around these point estimates. A 25% increase in liquid asset holdings is found to have an output effect less than half that associated with a one-percentage point increase in capital ratios. The projected impacts arise mainly from banks passing on higher costs to borrowers, which results in a slowdown in investment. A two-year implementation period leads to a slightly larger reduction from the baseline path, with the trough occurring after two and a half years, while extending the implementation period beyond four years makes little difference. In all of these estimates, GDP returns to its baseline path in subsequent years.


Winning the Peace in Iraq - The last American combat troops left Iraq this week. But when 'Operation New Dawn' begins on Sept. 1, the U.S. will still have a vital mission—and interests—there
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439381641164538.html

Get Ready for Ads in Books
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435243350910792.html

Proposal to ensure the loss absorbency of regulatory capital at the point of non-viability - consultative document
http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs174.htm

Press Briefing

Aug 19, 2010

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/08/146066.htm

Barney Frank to Fannie Mae: Drop Dead - Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437574151872544.html

Barney Frank has been all over the airwaves this week with a clear and—we never thought we'd say this—perfectly sound message about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: "They should be abolished."

Well, praise be. Two years ago next month, then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson put the two government-sponsored mortgage-finance giants into conservatorship, and Congressman Frank declared himself pleased that there was a good chance, according to government bean-counters, that the rescue wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. Also at the time, Mr. Frank scoffed at the Bush Administration's view that Fan and Fred should be wound down, saying it would never happen. One and a half trillion dimes ($149 billion) later, Mr. Frank appears to have seen the light.

Recall that in 2007 Mr. Frank had complained that the reason Fannie and Freddie hadn't been reformed earlier was "the insistence of some economic conservative fundamentalists in the Bush Administration who, to be honest, don't think there should be a Fannie Mae or a Freddie Mac." Welcome aboard, Barney.

In another sign that he's an avid reader of these columns, Mr. Frank even told Fox Business, "If we want to subsidize housing then we could do it upfront and let the budget be clear about that." That is certainly a more honest way to subsidize housing and makes us think we don't write in vain.

We prefer no subsidy for homeownership, not least because the painful experience of the last 40 years is that such policies lead to boom and bust and awful economic harm. Canada has neither a Fannie Mae nor a mortgage-interest tax deduction, and yet its homeownership rate is higher than America's. The homebuilder-Realtor-mortgage banker lobby will object, which is no doubt why Treasury chief Tim Geithner continued to call for some federal role in guaranteeing mortgages at his housing finance gabfest this week. But that road inevitably leads to the Son of Fannie.

The housing reform debate is only beginning, but for now we'll associate ourselves with Mr. Frank's view that if Congress wants to subsidize housing, it ought to do so directly out of annual appropriations, allocating dollars in open and transparent fashion against other priorities.


Assessing the macroeconomic impact of the transition to stronger capital and liquidity requirements - Interim Report
BCBS & FSB
http://www.bis.org/publ/othp10.htm

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Board set up the Macroeconomic Assessment Group (MAG) to assess the macroeconomic effects of the transition to strengthened capital and liquidity regulations. The MAG comprises economic modelling experts from central banks and other authorities. In its Interim Report, the MAG concludes that, for each percentage point increase in the target capital ratio implemented over a four-year horizon, the level of GDP relative to the baseline path declines by a maximum of about 0.19%. The maximum GDP loss occurs four and a half years after the start of implementation, after which GDP recovers towards its baseline path. The associated rise in banks' lending rates would amount to about 15 basis points for each percentage point increase in capital. These costs will slowly dissipate during and after the phase-in, returning GDP to the path it would have followed in the absence of the changes. The impact of the new regulatory framework on specific national financial systems will depend on current levels of capital and liquidity in those systems, and on the consequences of changes to the definitions used in calculating the relevant regulatory ratios. These results imply that the reforms proposed by the Basel Committee are likely to have, at most, a modest impact on aggregate output, provided that appropriate transition arrangements are in place.


Deconstructing Harry Reid - The Senate majority leader's inexplicable desire to debate taxes in September
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437413307858620.html

Somalia: Frozen Warfare in Mogadishu
http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Analysis/Somalia_Frozen_Warfare_in_Mogadishu_Intelligence_Brief_2.shtml

Blagojevich 23, Fitzgerald 1 - Chicago's jester politician humiliates the Justice Department
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437490986410482.html

Press Briefing

Aug 18, 2010

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/08/146049.htm

Obama Follows Nixon On Oil Spills - The overreaction to Santa Barbara in 1969 left the country dangerously vulnerable
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704407804575425541427252542.html

Ralph Nader: Where Left and Right Converge - Anticorporatist views are becoming more and more common
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435321716423354.html

FASB's Tort Bar Gift - New accounting rules would give lawyers a lawsuit roadmap
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435851610547946.html

If 10-year interest rates, which are now 2.8%, rise to 4% as they did last spring, bondholders will suffer a capital loss more than three times the current yield
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704407804575425384002846058.html

The Avastin Mugging - The FDA rigs the verdict against a good cancer drug
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405203894857436.html

Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner Opening Remarks at theConference on the Future of Housing Finance APFD
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg830.htm

Lift the wraps on the Himalayan border situation - Let facts speak for themselves on the India-China frontier
http://chellaney.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4913C7C8A2EA4A30!1237.entry