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...nonetheless making a big deal out of the Fed chairman's words? Partly because he's powerful. Bernanke's opinions on the economy's future shape the U.S. government's decisions about interest rates, bailout efforts and the like. Right now the main monetary-policy debate is between those who think the recovery will be weak and fitful--and thus the Fed should keep doing what it can to stimulate the economy--and those who think it will be rip-roaring enough that further spending would spark inflation. At Brookings, Bernanke seemed to indicate that he stood with the first...
...main goal of health-care reform, the subject of Obama's speech to Congress, is to cut costs for everyone. Malpractice premiums make up less than 1% of U.S. heath-care spending. Doctors argue that "defensive medicine"--the extraneous care they provide out of fear of being sued--costs much more, but the data are unclear. Texas, for example, has not seen health-care spending drop since instituting award caps in 2003. While a 1996 study said caps could cut costs up to 9%, the Congressional Budget Office stated in 2008 that it had "not found sufficient evidence to conclude...
...Three main lessons present themselves. First, the lightly regulated global financial system that has evolved over the past three decades is dangerously fragile. Second, the U.S. government is capable of keeping a financial panic from snowballing into a complete economic disaster. Third, the government has not yet shown itself to be capable of doing much of anything to make the financial system less collapse-prone in the future. (There's a link, by the way, between the government's failure in No. 3 and its success...
...perceived higher risks emanate from GEM's lower listing thresholds compared with those at the main boards in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong - and even the SME Board in Shenzhen, which requires IPO applicants to have at least three years' operating history and profits. GEM may consider for listing a company that turned a profit of as low as $730,000 in the previous one year, provided total sales exceeded $44 million. (See pictures of the making of modern China...
...market's current get-rich-quick mindset cannot be changed overnight. Hong Kong, a more mature financial center, launched a GEM board 10 years ago. It has not been a notable success, with just 172 companies and total market capitalization of $11 billion - equal to 0.6% of the main board...