Economy Now

Instant reaction and smart charts on economic trends.
  • Bill Clinton: Congress will punt on fiscal cliff

    Former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that lawmakers will most likely put off making a set of crucial spending and tax decisions until 2013.

    "[Congress] will probably have to put everything off until early next year," Clinton said during an interview with CNBC. "That's probably the best thing to do right now."

    Clinton was referring to the so-called fiscal cliff -- a series of measures set to begin in January that would MORE

    - Jun 5, 2012 7:14 PM ET
  • Romney: I'll get unemployment down to 6%

    Mitt Romney told our friends at TIME on Wednesday that he will get the unemployment rate to 6% by the end of his first term. (CNNMoney and TIME are both owned by Time Warner.)

    "Over a period of four years, by virtue of the policies that we put in place, we'd get the unemployment rate down to 6%, and perhaps a little lower," Romney said. "It depends in part upon MORE

    - May 23, 2012 3:22 PM ET
  • Private equity: Choose your own adventure

    What is the average American to think of private equity?

    The industry, which used to never get mentioned in the pages of political rags or on talk shows, is well on its way to becoming a campaign touchstone.

    Just this week, President Obama declared private equity a legitimate campaign target. His campaign released a two minute ad focused on Bain Capital's takeover of Kansas City-based GST Steel. Vice President Joe Biden added MORE

    - May 23, 2012 12:24 PM ET
  • Election 2012: Bain is here to stay

    President Obama has made one thing very clear: He will be talking about Bain Capital a lot between now and Election Day.

    "This is what this campaign is going to be about," Obama said Monday after drawing a distinction between what Mitt Romney did as CEO of Bain Capital and what is expected of a president.

    Obama's comments came at an unlikely venue -- a NATO summit, of all things. But they MORE

    - May 22, 2012 3:33 PM ET
  • Obama's super PAC problem

    President Obama has a super PAC problem.

    After outspending Sen. John McCain by a wide margin in 2008, the incumbent president is in danger of losing the 2012 money race to Mitt Romney.

    Of course it's early, and Obama has a powerful fundraising machine. But the balance of power may well be upset as Republican super PACs have brought in much more money than pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action.

    That group, which MORE

    - May 21, 2012 11:39 AM ET
  • Romney declares victory, asks 'are you better off?'

    After winning primary votes in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island on Tuesday night, Mitt Romney bid adieu to his Republican opponents and turned his attention to President Obama and the general election.

    In his victory speech, Romney argued that the president's economic policies have failed, and invoked Ronald Reagan's famous query to voters: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Here's what Romney said:

    Four years MORE

    - Apr 25, 2012 12:09 PM ET
  • SEC rule hits Romney fundraising

    The Wall Street Journal reports that Mitt Romney's new "Victory Fund"  -- a joint effort between the campaign and the Republican National Committee -- has encountered a minor stumbling block.

    Deep pocketed Wall Street donors, many of whom are thought to favor Romney, are being warned by their firms to limit donations. Here's the Journal:

    "[The Victory Fund] asks donors to give as much as $75,800, including donations to Mr. Romney's primary MORE

    - Apr 23, 2012 12:31 PM ET
  • Romney's economic brain trust

    The long trek to the White House is never made alone. Instead, candidates pick up all manner of consultants, pollsters, advisers, press officers and wanna-be appointees along the way.

    Mitt Romney, now considered his party's presumptive nominee, has his own team of four economic advisers. Harvard economist Greg Mankiw and Columbia Business School's Glenn Hubbard hail from academia.  Former Sen. Jim Talent and Rep. Vin Weber bring knowledge of Washington's hallways MORE

    - Apr 18, 2012 5:00 AM ET
  • Romney hints at tax changes

    One of the biggest knocks on Mitt Romney this election cycle is that his policy proposals have lacked specificity -- especially when it comes to how much the government should tax, and what programs it should spend that revenue on.

    But on Sunday, a few new details were revealed as reporters were able to eavesdrop on a closed Romney fundraiser.

    We know Romney wants to cut income tax rates MORE

    - Apr 16, 2012 11:43 AM ET
  • What kind of car is Obama?

    If President Obama was a car, what kind of car would he be and why?

    That's the question Resurgent Republic, a conservative polling and advocacy group, asked independent voters in Virginia and Colorado recently. The focus group members all voted for Obama in 2008, but are undecided heading into this year's general election.

    The answers, to say the least, varied.

    One voter said Obama is most like a Yugo. Yes, the subcompact MORE

    - Apr 12, 2012 1:17 PM ET
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