Policy and Government

From Hillsdale, Gary Wolfram explains supply-side economics.

On Newsmax, Director Kudlow says 2020 will be a very strong year for our economy.

The Transpartisan Review‘s December issue features The Capitalist Manifesto by Supply-Side Blog editor-in-chief Ralph Benko and Committee webster William R. Collier and its “call to truly liberal radicalism.”

The Economic Standard takes note of The Capitalist Manifesto.

CNBC reports pace of tariffs rollback disappoints Goldman Sachs.

Monetary

Business Insider discusses 8 currencies that appreciated against the dollar in 2019.

World

Alexandra Stevenson at the NY Times reports that China’s companies may be badly overleveraged and are beginning to default on debt obligations in ominous and growing amounts:

The bond market turmoil is only one of a number of tremors in China’s financial system, which is struggling under the weight of an enormous borrowing spree. A decade ago, when the global financial crisis threatened world growth, China began a giant stimulus push to build roads and bridges and create jobs. To fund it, banks lent heavily and local governments began raising money.

The push resulted in the largest credit expansion by any single country, in terms of the size of its economy. The banking system more than quadrupled in size, from $9 trillion at the end of 2008 to $40 trillion today.

Two years ago, officials began to tackle the mess. They clamped down on an unruly shadow banking sector, where murky platforms linked borrowers with lenders willing to hand over money in exchange for big returns. They allowed more bankruptcies, hoping to send a message that companies that spend recklessly will be allowed to fail. State-backed banks were told to pull back on easy cash for state-owned enterprises and rein in risky lending. Beijing then cut much of the financial assistance that local governments had once enjoyed.