John Ydstie

CEO Cook To Defend Apple Before Senate Committee Hearing

John Ydstie — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:23:00 +0000

Giant technology firm Apple is paying billions of dollars less than it should in U.S. taxes each year, according to a report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In a hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Apple CEO Tim Cook will defend the company.

The subcommittee's report says Apple avoids the tax payments mainly by shifting profits to three subsidiary companies in Ireland. The investigation found Apple is taking advantage of technicalities in U.S.

Housing Recovery Lifts Other Sectors, Too

John Ydstie — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:27:00 +0000

The government's employment report for April comes out Friday. It's an important measure of the economy's health and the advance signals have been mixed. One report this week showed layoffs falling to a five-year low, but another suggests disappointing jobs creation.

At least one sector is providing some positive news for the job market: housing.

It was only a year or so ago that housing was a big drag on the economy, and the main reason for the disappointing recovery. But that's changed. Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S.

Cyprus' Crisis Frames Eurozone As 'Work In Progress'

John Ydstie — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:07:00 +0000

On the second day since Cyprus reopened its banks, depositors continue to face restrictions on getting at their money. ATM withdrawals are limited to 300 euros a day, and there are limits on how much cash travelers can take abroad.

The controls are designed to keep worried depositors from draining the banks and moving money out of the country.

Odd Political Bedfellows Agree: Banks Still Too Big To Fail

John Ydstie — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:21:00 +0000

Amid Washington's dysfunction, one issue has united some liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans: a common concern that "too big to fail" is alive and well.

Despite the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, these lawmakers believe the nation's largest banks still pose a threat to the economy and that the government will step in to bail them out if they get in trouble.

At a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., confronted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke with her concerns. "We've now understood this problem for nearly five years," she said.

Time For The Fed To Take Away The Punch Bowl?

John Ydstie — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:35:00 +0000

The stock market's long climb from its recession bottom has some people concerned it may be a bubble about to burst — a bubble artificially pumped up by the Federal Reserve's easy-money policy. That's led to calls — even from within the Fed — for an end to the central bank's extraordinary efforts to keep interest rates low.

Even as the Dow Jones industrial average was reaching its nominal record Tuesday, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, continued his criticism of the central bank's massive intervention, calling it unhealthy.