As 2012 sputters to a close, it wraps up with a yawning gap between widespread economic pessimism and the actual state of economic affairs. Though consumer sentiment rebounded in the fall, it fell in December, amid relentless coverage of the impending fiscal cliff. Holiday spending was muted. Businesses, meanwhile, cite the unresolved negotiations in Washington as evidence of continued uncertainty and many have put new spending, hiring, or investment on hold. The media counts the days (and on some cable news channels, the minutes and the seconds) till we descend the fiscal cliff, adding to the general agitation.
Read moreThe Number: Zachary Karabell
Daniel Gross is joined by Newsweek & The Daily Beast contributor Zachary Karabell to predict what the year 2013 will hold. Karabell says this year will be the year of Mexico and the return of NAFTA.
Read moreThe Number: 2013
Will this be the year of Mexico? Global business editor Daniel Gross is joined by Zachary Karabell to predict what 2013 will hold. (Hint: Get used to the acronym NAFTA.)
Read moreWho's Afraid of Chained CPI?
As the fiscal cliff talks evolve and devolve, the latest spat has been whether the arc of federal spending should be curtailed by changing the way that we assess costs. The proposal from the White House is to switch the way cost-of-living adjustments are made for Social Security benefits. Rather than pegging those to the Consumer Price Index as currently calculated, these would be pegged to a "chain-weighted" Consumer Price Index, which would save as much as $125 billion in additional benefits over the next decade.
Read moreOur Hero, Ben Bernanke: Why Central Bankers (Not Politicians) Are Saving the Global Economy
The Federal Reserve just announced a new round of measures designed to keep the money flowing. Central bankers -- not to be confused with the heads of private banks that have received so much opprobrium for their role in the financial crises of the past years - are not noted for their charisma or their communication skills, but their role in shaping today's world, shadowy at times, could hardly be greater. The question is: Are they helping or harming?
Read moreThe Number: 22
That's how many days until we go over the so-called fiscal cliff—but should the public panic? Global business Dan Gross and contributor Zachary Karabell on why Americans shouldn't tear out their hair. Yet.
Read moreStandard & Poor’s and Other Ratings Agencies Must End Their Power Trip
In early December, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s placed all 15 Eurozone countries under what it calls “negative credit watch.” Typically, that means there is an even possibility that it will downgrade the credit of these countries within 90 days.
Read moreHow Conspiracy Theorists Are Steering Us Toward the Fiscal Cliff
Consumers are feeling optimistic; sales are up; employment hasn't much improved but neither is it getting worse; Washington is as dysfunctional as ever; and housing is showing significant life. Not the best of times, by any means, but not the worst.
Read moreThe Bipolar Economy: If Consumers Are Happy, Why Is Business So Miserable?
A strange inversion has happened in the past few months: Consumers have gone from being deeply pessimistic about the future to slightly optimistic at the same time that companies have moved from being slightly positive to increasingly negative. That discrepancy is intriguing, and raises the question: Which view will determine the course of the near future? Will the buoyed spirits of people carry the day, or will corporate glumness pull us down?
Read more6 Reasons to Be Thankful About the Economy Today
It's admittedly trite to use the occasion of Thanksgiving to look on the bright side, but given how rarely we cast an optimistic outlook these days, it's as good a reason as any. With Chapter LXXII of the Middle East conflict playing out in Gaza and the daily soap opera of Washington politics oscillating between sex scandals and fiscal fearmongering, we are once again subsuming the bigger picture to the smaller one and privileging fear.
Read moreBoehner Still Wants Obamacare Repeal as Part of "Fiscal Cliff" Negotiations
Even after the election, Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner is still trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even after all three branches of government have approved this. Meanwhile, other Republicans line up for 2016. Keith Boykin and Zachary Karabell of CNBC and Martin Kady of Politico discuss with Thomas Roberts on MSNBC's News Nation.
Read moreCheer Up, America! The Economy (and the Country) Is Much Better Off Than You Think
Barely had the counting ceased in last week's presidential election when the news took a somber turn. Two of the next day's headlines read "Back to Work, Looming Fiscal Crisis Greets Obama" and my favorite, "America has Sown the Seeds of Its Own Demise." Politicians either celebrated or decried the results, but regardless of party affiliation most warned of formidable challenges and a perilous future.
Read moreMaking Sense of a Changing China
As China’s influence expands, how will it influence global innovation?
Read moreCan the U.S. Stay Competitive?
Slow trains; second class cell service; inferior infrastructure; third-tallest buildings; fourth-rate education; 34th in infant mortality. What are we still best at? As innovation flourishes around the world, can the U.S. stay strong? How? This session seeks some answers.
Read moreThe Unequal Reality of America's Jobs Recovery
Today's U.S. Labor Department report on jobs confirms what we've known for more than a year: We have entered a new normal for jobs, with marginal gains, marginal losses and higher levels of unemployment becoming the unfortunate norm.
Read moreGoogle: Too Much Supply, Not Enough Demand?
CNBC's Jon Fortt, Jeff Cox and Zachary Karabell offer insight on the breaking Google story.
Read moreDon’t blame China for America’s decline
Two things seem certain in modern presidential campaigns: Candidates will spend more time attacking each other than offering constructive alternatives, and one or both will attack China.In 1992, Bill Clinton accused President George H.W. Bush of coddling Chinese dictators. In 2004, John F. Kerry assailed “Benedict Arnold CEOs,” and by extension their allies in President George W. Bush’s administration, for shipping jobs to China.
Read moreCheers to Ben Bernanke & Central Bankers
The Fed will keep interest rates low for several years and aggressively buy up bonds, Ben Bernanke announced today. When will elected officials catch up to the unsung heroics of central bankers?
Read moreMario Draghi May Become the Man Who Saved Europe—and the World
The decision by the European Central Bank chief to provide almost unlimited funds to troubled governments could lead to the end of the Eurozone crisis, put a stop to financial dominoes falling, and lead to global economic stability.
Read moreThe Number: 2.03%
That's the interest rate that Spain had to pay for selling six-month bonds. Dan Gross and Zachary Karabell on how this could be the beginning of the end of the Euro crisis.
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