debt ceiling
The current debt ceiling debate reveals a painful reality that the United States must confront.
Governments traditionally have two policy levers to influence the economy: monetary policy and fiscal policy. Many investors have directed their ire at the unprecedented monetary easing of global central bankers over the last several years, but fiscal policy in both Europe and the United States has proven impotent because of unswerving gridlock. Now there is a potential reckoning for fiscal impotency in the form of a fixed debt ceiling in the United States.
One story that got my attention this week came from the Guardian: Sometime in the first half of 2014, the Financial Times will launch a single edition, global print product. In a memo to staff, editor Lionel Barber said: "The 1970s-style newspaper publishing process — making incremental changes to multiple editions through the night is dead. In future, our print product will derive from the web offering — not vice versa."