10 | May | 2012

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Interesting Fact of the Day: Plastic Surgery

Mark J. Perry | May 10, 2012, 11:59 pm

The top three countries in the world for cosmetic plastic surgery procedures: Brazil, China and U.S., but in which order? Find out here. Just the fact that Brazil and China are in the top three is evidence that “free market … read more >

Carpe Diem

Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Lows This Week

Mark J. Perry | May 10, 2012, 6:25 pm

Mortgage rates fell to fresh lows this week, according to data released today by mortgage-buyer Freddie Mac, with the 30-year rate falling to 3.83% (see chart above) and the 15-year rate dropping to 3.05%. The 30-year (15-year) rates are the … read more >

Carpe Diem

Total U.S. Trade Sets New Record High in March

Mark J. Perry | May 10, 2012, 2:27 pm

Total U.S. international trade (exports + imports) set a new monthly record of $425.3 billion in March (see chart above), as both monthly exports ($186.7 billion) and imports ($238.6 billion) reached record high levels in March, according to today’s BEA … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

Obama’s gay marriage gamble

Andrew Rugg | May 10, 2012, 1:07 pm

President Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage has been met with cheers from his supporters and raised eyebrows from some election analysts. To say the least, it’s a gamble. In many of the 2012 swing states, constitutional bans on same sex … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

The Road to Freedom: mile #2

James Pethokoukis | May 10, 2012, 11:14 am

From The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise by Arthur Brooks, which was published on Tuesday: In America, the road to serfdom doesn’t come from a knock in the night and a jackbooted thug. It comes from … read more >

Economics

Income inequality and the belief that America is a zero-sum game

James Pethokoukis | May 10, 2012, 10:58 am

Scott Winship makes an excellent point on income inequality: CBO finds that the share of income received by the top one percent rose from 8 percent to 17 percent from 1979 to 2007 (the Piketty/Saez increase is from 10 percent … read more >

Economics, Energy and the Environment

Can we undo the plastic bag restrictions and taxes now?

Kenneth P. Green | May 10, 2012, 10:49 am

Back in March of last year, I wrote about a pair of studies that should give “cloth grocery bag” fans pause. One study pointed out that reusable grocery bags actually have a bigger environmental footprint than regular, disposable plastic bags. … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

The WaPo’s fact-checker fumbles on Romney jobs claim

James Pethokoukis | May 10, 2012, 10:34 am

Glenn Kessler is “The Fact Checker” over at the Washington Post. In a new column, he targets this claim by Mitt Romney, in which the GOP presidential contender criticizes the Obama recovery: “We should be seeing numbers in the 500,000 jobs … read more >

Economics, Financial Services

The Chinese are coming … to a bank near you

James Pethokoukis | May 10, 2012, 9:16 am

It looks like China will literally be America’s banker. From the WSJ: Giant banks owned by the Chinese government are coming to the U.S. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved plans by three state-backed Chinese banks to expand in the U.S., … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

New jobless claims report is more evidence of Stagnation Nation

James Pethokoukis | May 10, 2012, 8:48 am

Reuters: New claims for unemployment benefits edged down last week, according to government data on Thursday that could ease concerns the labor market was deteriorating after April’s weak employment growth. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a … read more >