Category Archives: Economy

Recovery Continues for U.S. Economy, Adding 5 Million Jobs

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— America’s economy will continue its recovery this year and next as it adds nearly 5 million jobs and unemployment falls below 8 percent, say University of Michigan economists.

“The performance of the U.S. economy during much of 2011 did nothing to alter the perception that we were mired in a sluggish recovery,” said U-M economist Joan Crary. (more…)

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Report: Higher Ed Holds Key to Boost Arizona Economy

A multi-year report says the UA is a driver in the state’s economic development, but more coordination is needed among schools, business and the Legislature.

The University of Arizona and the state’s other colleges and universities have what it takes to produce the expertise needed to improve Arizona’s economy, says an international agency that has been monitoring the region for several years. (more…)

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Russia Asks China Not to Clone Su-35 Fighters

Russia was ready to sign a contract with China to supply 48 multi-role Su-35 fighter jets. However, Russia put forward a condition to the Celestial Empire. Moscow demands guarantees that the aircraft will not be further copied for sale.

According to Kommersant, the amount of the expected transaction could reach $4 billion, or approximately $85 million per unit. If the contract is signed, it will be the largest arms contract of the last decade. (more…)

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Ross Levine: Finance and Baseball

In Guardians of Finance, economists Ross Levine, James R. Barth, and Gerard Caprio Jr. argue that the financial meltdown of 2007 to 2009 was no accident — it was negligent homicide. Levine speaks with Deb Baum about how that happened, what can be done, and why the home team always seems to win.

A new book co-authored by Brown University economist Ross Levine argues that the reason the United States suffers financial crises time and time again is because the major regulatory agencies — the so-called “guardians of finance” — do not work for the public. Instead, they frequently work in the best interests of the financial services industry, the very entities they are supposed to be regulating. Guardians of Finance: Making Regulators Work for Us, published in February by MIT Press, goes beyond telling us what went wrong. The authors also suggest reforms needed to prevent the next crisis. (more…)

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China’s Urbanization Unlikely To Lead To Fast Growth of Middle Class: UW Geographer

The number of people living in China’s cities, which last year for the first time surpassed 50 percent of the national population, is considered a boon for the consumer goods market. That is based on the assumption that there will be more families with more disposable income when poor farmers from China’s countryside move to cities and become middle-class industrial and office workers. (more…)

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