published Aug 25th 2016, 1:54 pm, by Megan McArdle (Bloomberg View) —When Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law, the outrage from the left was incandescent. Peter Edelman, a prominent official in Health and Human Services, resigned in protest and wrote an article for the Atlantic calling it “The Worst

published Aug 24th 2016, 2:33 pm, by Barry Ritholtz (Bloomberg View) —There has been a steady drumbeat of negativity about housing ever since the residential real-estate market crashed. While there are some signs of recovery, psychological damage persists. It has been a few years since we last looked at this

published Aug 24th 2016, 5:25 pm, by Patricia Hurtado (Bloomberg) —The former chief executive of Comverse Technology Inc. who hid in Africa for a decade pleaded guilty to backdating stock options and was jailed immediately by a U.S. judge who said the defendant’s intelligence and guile meant he couldn’t be

published Aug 24th 2016, 5:00 pm, by David Tweed and Nick Wadhams (Bloomberg) —U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned a few months back that China risked a “great wall of self-isolation” for its actions in the disputed South China Sea. That hasn’t deterred Xi Jinping. Beijing is boosting its military

published Aug 23rd 2016, 7:00 am, by Megan McArdle (Bloomberg View) — “The health of Americans should not be a profit center. Health care is a right. Full stop.” That comes from the Twitter feed of personal finance writer Helaine Olen. But it could have issued straight from the heart

published Aug 23rd 2016, 4:17 pm, by Noah Smith (Bloomberg View) — I miss 2011. Looking back, that was the heyday of economic blogging. The financial crisis had abated, but the recovery from the recession was disappointing, and everyone was talking about how to jump-start growth. Macroeconomics was important again.

published Aug 23rd 2016, 6:46 pm, by Jiyeun Lee (Bloomberg) — North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coast early Wednesday, in a move that comes as South Korea conducts military drills with the U.S. The missile flew about 500 kilometers, suggesting the nation’s missile

published Aug 22nd 2016, 7:29 pm, by Perry Williams (Bloomberg) — Oil Search Ltd. posted a 89 percent fall in first-half profit as a drop in energy prices offset increased output at the Papua New Guinea-focused company. Net income was $25.6 million, compared with $227.5 million last year, the Sydney-based

published Aug 22nd 2016, 5:01 pm, by Amanda Billner (Bloomberg) — The lid that has kept Swedish wages in check for decades is starting to crack. Many fast-growing technology companies are refusing to play by the rules, eschewing the traditional collective bargaining agreements that have helped deliver moderate pay increases

published Aug 22nd 2016, 6:10 pm, by Kevin Cirilli, Jennifer Jacobs and Ben Brody (Bloomberg) — Donald Trump called Monday for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton’s “e-mail crimes” stemming from her tenure as secretary of state. “After the FBI and Department of