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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

JEC Life Sciences Hearing May 25, 2011



Congressman Brady, (R-TX) Vice Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, provides his opening statement to the committee and witnesses on the importance of driving innovation and job growth through the Life Sciences Industry.

Senator Lee's Opening Remarks
Vice Chairman Brady Questions Witnesses
Congressman Mulvaney's Questions
Senator Lee's First Round of Questioning
Vice Chairman Brady's Second Round of Questions

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Durable Goods Orders Fall the Most in 6 Months
Orders for U.S. durable goods dropped more than forecast in April, reflecting a slump in aircraft demand and disruptions in supplies of auto parts stemming from the earthquake in Japan.
CNN Money | Oil is going up! No wait, down! Up!
Goldman's economists hinted in a report over the weekend that the firm's commodity team might soon boost its forecast for oil prices.
NY Times | Recession Slows Migration, Census Finds
Domestic migration last year reached its lowest level since the government began tracking it in the 1940s, the Census Bureau said, as the lingering effects of the recession continued to curb Americans’ mobility.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Washington Times | SHUGHART: Obama’s schizo energy policy
Counterproductive approach to oil production.
Daily Caller | Free trade agreements would jumpstart jobs
The longer the United States waits, the more market share U.S. manufacturers will lose to overseas competitors.
WSJ | Holding Mrs. Warren Accountable
The consumer financial czar doth protest too much.
Washington Times | MILLER: Obama’s $20 billion mortgage shakedown
Consumers to pay the bill for upside-down house loans.

Reports                                                                                                                         
Mercatus Center | Who's Watching the Watchmen?
Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Relations, Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services, and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs.

Health Care

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Washington Times | NEERHOF: Who will be in charge of your health care?
The battle in Washington will determine if it is you - or bureaucrats.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Treasury 10-Year Yields Touch Level Below 200-Day Moving Average
Treasury 10-year note yields touched a level below their 200-day moving average for the first time since December on speculation Europe’s debt crisis is getting worse and the U.S. economy is weakening.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
MarketWatch | QE2 was a bust
It‘s cost $600 billion of your money. And it was supposed to rescue the economy. But has Ben Bernanke’s huge financial stimulus package, known as “Quantitative Easing 2,” actually worked as planned?

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Kansas City, Dallas Feds Want Higher Discount Rate
Ten of the Fed’s 12 district banks voted to keep the discount rate unchanged at 0.75%, according to minutes released Tuesday. Directors from the Kansas City and Dallas Fed called for an increase in the rate to 1%.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | OECD Urges Fed to Raise Rates
In its semi-annual economic outlook, the OECD said gradually tightening credit soon after the Fed completes its government bond purchases in June would reduce the need for steeper–and potentially disruptive–increases in interest rates later.

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
MarketWatch | Nasty tax surprise on retirement loans
Propose law could give 401(k) savers the break they need.

Employment

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Economist: Free Exchange | Song two
IN THE past year American manufacturers have added almost 200,000 jobs to the payrolls (197,000 from April 2010 to April 2011 to be precise).
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Three-Quarters of Employers Plan to Hire New Graduates
Three out of four companies plan to hire recent college graduates, a new survey shows, in the latest sign of an improving job market for the Class of 2011.

Budget

News                                                                                                                             
Fox News | Chrysler repays $7.6B in government loans
Chrysler took $10.5 billion from the U.S. government to survive two years ago, and earlier had repaid some of the money. On Tuesday, it retired a $5.9 billion balance on the U.S. loans and $1.7 billion to the governments of Canada and Ontario.
Bloomberg | Biden Aims for $1 Trillion Budget Cuts
Vice President Joe Biden set a goal of at least $1 trillion in budget cuts from negotiations with congressional leaders on the federal debt as talks turned to Medicare, a contentious issue that risks replicating a partisan divide on Capitol Hill.
CNN Money | G8 meeting: What's at stake
...likely to be discussed is the United States' federal budget deficit and the looming debt ceiling the country is facing, as well as high commodity prices fueling concerns about inflation around the world.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Reid’s budget strategy
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has no interest in resolving the looming debt and entitlement crisis.
Globe and Mail | The U.S. fiscal solution: Follow Canada’s lead
Similar actions unfolding in the U.S. today may well create the illusion of prosperity, but as any Canadian will tell you (or perhaps anyone from New Zealand a decade earlier), there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
NRO: The Corner | What to Take Away from the Trustees Reports
rom now on, Social Security will be running a permanent cash-flow deficit, which means that taxes collected for the program aren’t enough to cover the benefits paid to retirees. Starting now, the program will draw from the trust fund balances to keep payments to retirees going; in concrete terms, Treasury will borrow money to pay back the trust funds.