The U.S. Economy Is No Longer Competitive, Says Harvard Business Alumni


What’s wrong with the United States’ economy? Ask a Harvard graduate and the answer would most likely describe the loss of the country’s competitiveness, especially against emerging Asian economies.

In a survey of 10,000 Harvard alumni, which incorporates the opinions of global executives in leadership and decision making roles, 71 percent of respondents expect U.S. competitiveness to weaken over the next three years, mostly because of the inability of U.S. firms to pay high wages and benefits.

Beware The Bounce – Why The US Economy Is Still In Trouble: Nouriel Roubini


Recent  favourable macroeconomic data has suggested that the US economy could be back on track. But the recent uplift in the economy only hides more fundamental problems, and the US still remains in the early stages of a deleveraging cycle.

NEW YORK – Macroeconomic indicators for the United States have been better than expected for the last few months. Job creation has picked up. Indicators for manufacturing and services have improved moderately. Even the housing industry has shown some signs of life. And consumption growth has been relatively resilient.

Growing Perception of Class Warfare In The US: Study


More Americans today believe that there is a conflict between the rich and poor in the country as compared to two years ago, claimed survey findings published by Pew Research Center last Wednesday; with tensions over wealth inequality seen to be even greater than those over immigration, race or age.

Obama To Create Task Force That Monitor Chinese Trade Policies


US President Barack Obama is planning to form a government task force that will enforce US trade rules around the world, though people closer to the matter claim that the task force’s specific purpose would be to target and monitor China for possible trade and commercial violations.

Fix The Enterprises, Fix The Economy: Henry Mintzberg


An economy is simply an accumulation of transactions involving goods and services, mostly carried out by business enterprises. Their behaviour is what matters, and this can be adequately perceived only on the ground, where the behaviour occurs – where an economy is built, where it breaks, and where it must be fixed.

MONTREAL – Much commentary about the American economy nowadays leaves the impression that economists should fix its problems. But Washington is teeming with smart economists, and the problems remain.

Infographic: America’s Federal Budget & Debt Burden In 2011


The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan federal agency within the legislative branch of the US government, recently released an infographic detailing the US’s federal budget and debt burden through fiscal year 2011, which ended in September.

From its data, the CBO revealed that the US is currently “facing significant and fundamental budgetary challenges.” For fiscal year 2011, the federal government’s budget deficit was $1.3 trillion; making it the third-largest shortfall in the past 40 years. Check out their highly informative infographic below:

US Policy Uncertainty Affecting Business Expansion And Job Creation


Small business owners would hire and invest more if Washington offered a clearer plan for taxes and government spending, said a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on Tuesday.

“While the downturn and weak recovery certainly had a large negative effect on small business hiring plans, policy uncertainty has exacerbated this effect,” claimed researchers Mark Schweitzer and Scott Shane in their report.

US Debt Supercommittee Ready to Concede Defeat Over Budget Agreement


The US deficit-cutting congressional super committee, formed in the aftermath of the August debt ceiling debates, is expected to announce today that it has failed to reach an agreement over a deficit-cutting plan that would have saved taxpayers at least $1.2 trillion over the coming decade.

On Sunday, panel members from both the Republican and Democratic parties appeared on separate talk shows to express their doubt over a possible compromise, blaming each other for a political gridlock stemming from different ideologies over taxes and spending.

More Than 1 in 5 US Children Living In Poverty


According to the latest US Census Bureau report released on Thursday, 21.6 percent of American children lived below the US federal poverty threshold in 2010, with more 27 states reporting increased poverty rates or absolute figures as compared to 2009.

The number of people living in poverty has reached an all-time high in the US, as high unemployment rates continue to dog the economy, with the national poverty rate standing at 15.3 percent and unemployment at 9 percent some two years after the recession that began in 2007 officially ended.

Many Americans Now Expect to Retire at 80


In a recent survey by Wells Fargo, results have shown that 25 percent of middle-class Americans now expect to work till they are at least 80 years old, in order to afford basic retirement costs.

In addition, another 74 percent of middle-class Americans say they expect to work in their retirement years, including 39 percent of all respondents who said they will need to work to make ends meet.