Having a hard time understanding all the discussion of the Federal Budget deficit? The Congressional Budget Office has a nice infographic of Federal spending, revenues, and the deficit. Read the full article

Now that the Congressional Super-Committee’s attempts to produce deficit cuts have failed, the Budget Control Act calls for specific budget cuts that commence in January 2013. If this actually comes to pass, the resulting defense-related cuts would have a significant impact in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Read the full article

I was unable to attend last week’s New England Economic Partnership conference, but it sounds like it was a fairly somber gathering. Read the full article

Now that the Congressional Super-Committee has thrown in the towel, the automatic spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 are set to kick in unless Congress gets its act together. Read the full article

For most Americans, the European Debt Crisis is anything but riveting. Sure, Wall Street has been bouncing up and down in response to news about the Euro bailout fund, but Greek sovereign debt is a pretty esoteric subject for almost everyone else. Yet the cover of this week’s Economist magazine advises, “be afraid.” What are they worried about? Read the full article

Michael Cembalest, Chief Investment Officer at investment bank JPMorgan, has done the world a service by publishing a graphic view of the European Crisis, courtesy of his 9-year-old son.

This week, a friend expressed concern to me about the safety of his bank. So today I'm addressing two questions: how can you find out whether your bank is in good financial shape, and just how strong is the FDIC's insurance fund? Read the full article

Now that Standard and Poor’s has lowered the US debt rating to AA+, only sixteen nations have the highest rating from all three major ratings agencies (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch). Read the full article

Making good on its earlier warnings, S&P announced after the close of the markets today that it has lowered its long-term credit rating on US debt one notch, from AAA to AA+. Read the full article

Between the German Finance Minister announcing that the EU debt crisis isn't over and an ongoing debate over the likely market effects of a US credit downgrade, there’s a good deal of chafing at the bit on the question of what investors should do in the face of a troubling degree of market uncertainty. Read the full article

iShares chief investment strategist Russ Koesterich has written an engaging, insightful book explaining the magnitude of the problem that the United States national debt presents for investors. The full title of the book is The $10 Trillion Gamble: The Coming Deficit Debacle and How To Invest Now. Read the full article

Bloomberg TV interviewed John Chambers, managing director of sovereign ratings at S&P, on the consequences of a US default. While he made it clear that the mere act of failing to raise the debt ceiling would not automatically cause a rating change, he made it clear that if any debt payment were not made on time, S&P would change the Treasury’s rating from AAA to D. Read the full article

As the Greek debt tragedy plays itself out, it’s become apparent that problems in Europe have the potential to nick some U.S. money market funds. Read the full article

Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist for US Trust, has written an insightful book on the shifts taking place in the world economy. The book's subtitle captures its scope: The retreat of globalization, the end of American dominance, and what we can do about it. Read the full article

The Massachusetts economy continues to strengthen faster than the nation as a whole, according to state economists. Read the full article

The Boston Business Journal announced yesterday a new report on Massachusetts Housing “Leaders and Laggards” based on data from the first quarter of 2011. Our Fair City did not make it into the Top Ten, or even the Top Twenty. Read the full article

Late last week, the Board of Trustees of the trust fund that covers Social Security and Medicare issued its annual report for 2011. Read the full article

Which states are likely to have the worst pension liability problems in the future? A couple of studies, one from the Pew Center on the States and the other from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, indicate that while a few are in decent shape, some are much worse than others. Read the full article

The persistence of super-low Treasury bond interest rates has led to a new oddity in the Treasury bond market. Monday’s Treasury auction of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) resulted in investors paying a price that results in a negative yield for the bonds. Read the full article

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reported that economic activity in the First District is generally on the upswing versus last year. Read the full article

Looking for cities leading the way in job creation and economic growth? The Milken Institutes's report "Best-Performing Cities 2010" identifies the leading areas in a ranking of 379 metros, divided into large (>200,000) and small (< 200,000) population metropolitan areas. Texas came out far ahead among the states this year, with Lone Star State cities filling 11 of the top 25 slots among large-population areas. Read the full article

Last week I attended a talk by Boston Federal Reserve Bank research economist Chris Foote. His subject was the Great Recession, but Foote also dropped a fairly big hint about the likely direction of short-term interest rates for the foreseeable future. Read the full article

The Bay State’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported today that despite the loss of 6,000 census jobs, the state added a net 13,200 workers to its rolls in July, marking the sixth straight month of employment gains in Massachusetts. Read the full article

Owners of small businesses are upbeat about their own chances for success, yet most believe that we will still be in a recession a year from now. Read the full article

Late last year, Congress extended an $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers and created a $6,500 credit for some existing homeowners who sell their old homes and buy new ones. These credits were originally available for houses purchased under contracts signed by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, but new legislation may give a break to those who can’t meet the June 30 deadline. Read the full article

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