David Wessel

The NYT knows its audience

What incentives are states offering to make houses less vulnerable to extreme weather damage? | Brookings Increasingly frequent and severe weather events and rising costs of home insurance have led states to offer funds to make homes more resilient.

What incentives are states offering to make houses less vulnerable to extreme weather damage? via Chase Parry @brookings.edu Hutchins Center www.brookings.edu/articles/wha...

What incentives are states offering to make houses less vulnerable to extreme weather damage? | Brookings Increasingly frequent and severe weather events and rising costs of home insurance have led states to offer funds to make homes more resilient.

What incentives are states offering to make houses less vulnerable to extreme weather damage? www.brookings.edu/articles/wha.... via Chase Parry @brookings.edu Hutchins Center

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Following Williams remarks, Fed funds futures goes from 60% chance of no rate cut to 64% chance of a quarter point cut

Strong signal about December FOMC meeting from NY Fed President John Williams. Rate cut likely.

Brexit Hit to UK Economy Double Official Estimate, Study Finds Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist.

Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist

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The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and that more than 400,000 U.S. troops died fighting against in World War II, as a hate symbol, according to a new policy that takes effect next month.

Now that’s a lede.

Story by @taracopp.bsky.social and @michelleboorstein.bsky.social.

Read here: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Karl Rove likes Medicare Advantage because folks can chose policies from competing private insurers on govt-run marketplace but doesn't like ACA because...um...folks can chose policies from competing private insurers? www.wsj.com/opinion/is-t...

They Rushed to Buy Homes During the Pandemic. Now, Some Feel Trapped.

The @nytimes.com manages to turn folks lucky enough to buy houses with very low (4% in this case) mortgages seem like victims. Huh?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/b...

Homicides have fallen sharply in these five cities — and across the U.S. Homicides are down nearly 20 percent this year in 52 of America’s largest cities, a decline that spans both red states and blue states.

The US remains a violent nation, more so than many other high-income countries, but the rate of homicides has fallen sharply for nearly four straight years. There were 5,965 fewer killings in 2024 than in 2021, figures from the FBI show.https://wapo.st/4o2fVM7

In a U.S. First, New Mexico Opens Doors to Free Child Care for All The state aims to give children a better start, but faces supply and staffing concerns.

First state to do this, says @wsj.com. New Mexico expands free childcare (beginning at six weeks of age) to all incomes. Had been income limits before ($130,000 for family of four.)
www.wsj.com/us-news/in-a...

The Biden Administration’s Federal Reserve Failures The Biden Administration did not send the best central bankers. What will the Democrats learn from the experience?

Peter Conti-Brown has some harsh words about Biden's picks for the Federal Reserve Board (Jefferson, Kugler, Cook, and Barr) open.substack.com/pub/petercon...

We document rapidly rising premiums & a doubling of the pass-through from disaster risk into premiums. Using variation in correlated wildfire and hurricane exposure, we show that the increase in the risk-to-premium gradient was accelerated by a repricing of catastrophic risk in global capital market

Keys & Mulder build dataset to study homeowners insurance using over 74 million premiums from 2014–2024 inferred from mortgage escrow payments. Premium increases are capitalized into home values, reducing home price growth by over $40,000 in the most exposed zip codes. www.nber.org/papers/w32579

Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.

Iowa City made its buses free in Aug 2023 as a 2-year experiment. Worked so well, city council extended for another year. Paid for with a 1% increase in utility taxes and by doubling most public parking rates to $2 from $1.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...

NOTED: House prices in London, tho still double the UK average, have fallen to the lowest level in two years. via @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/4oKQ7W3

Singapore’s Temasek warns weak US dollar is hitting returns Chief executive Dilhan Pillay says fall in greenback a ‘big issue’ for overseas investors

More indication that the weakness of the dollar while stock market rises (until the past few days) is because of foreigners hedging. on.ft.com/4oKQ7W3

Fed's Barkin says operating with limited data is like "trying to bring a boat to shore in the pitch black and having the lighthouse go dark." www.richmondfed.org/press_room/s...

Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe resigns Premature departure will create vacancy at head of Eurogroup

FT says Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe resigning to become a managing director and chief knowledge officer at the World Bank. on.ft.com/47K88xO

ECB’s top supervisor seeks new powers to override bank capital barriers Claudia Buch says EU should look ‘more favourably’ at waivers to help lenders move money more freely around the bloc

The ECB will lower average capital requirements for Europe’s biggest banks next year for the first time since pandemic. Average ommon equity tier one ratio to fall by 0.1 pct pts to 11.2% of risk-weighted assets. Lenders will still need to hold 8% more equity than in 2018. on.ft.com/4pkICoU

A questioner asks Fed governor Waller about Trump's "rather non scientific arguments" for cutting interest rates. Waller, on the short list for Fed chair, says "I'm not gonna touch that one."

Letter from attorney to Lisa Cook CNN

Text of letter: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Speech by Governor Waller on the economic outlook Thank you to the Society for the honor of addressing your annual meeting. 1 In doing a little research on the SPE's history, I noted that one goal cited b

Waller: With underlying inflation close to the FOMC's target and evidence of a weak labor market, I support cutting the Committee's policy rate by another 25 basis points at our December meeting. www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

Cook’s lawyer said case rests on “one stray reference” in a 2021 mortgage document that was “plainly innocuous in light of the several other truthful and more specific disclosures...There is no fraud, no intent to deceive, nothing whatsoever criminal or remotely a basis to allege mortgage fraud.”

Fed Governor Lisa Cook Offers First Defense of Mortgage Records Cook’s lawyer argued that apparent discrepancies don’t constitute fraud and alleged selective enforcement against political opponents.

Lisa Cook offers explanation. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The best way to regulate digital assets: Merge the SEC and CFTC | Brookings Former CFTC Chairman Timothy G. Massad makes the case for merging the SEC and CFTC to regulate cryptocurrencies

Former CFTC Chair Tim Massad says the rise of crypto is a good reason to (finally) merge CFTC and SEC. www.brookings.edu/articles/the... via @brookings.edu