HKS in the News June 15, 2012

1. Housing market shows hints of recovery, but economic troubles remain (Belsky) Washington Post

2. Brown-Warren race coming up short, some say (Parker) Boston Globe

3. Analysis: Spectre of second eurozone depression too close for comfort (Rodrik) Scotsman.com

Housing market shows hints of recovery, but economic troubles remain

Washington Post

June 14

Quoted: Eric Belsky, Joint Center for Housing Studies

Topic: The State of the Nation's Housing 2012 report

The report was covered by multiple outlets, includingThe Wall Street Journal,Reuters,Huffington Post, Investors Daily, and Marketwatch.

Home sales up. Inventories down. Prices rising in many cities. New houses being built at the fastest pace in years. Interest rates hovering at historic lows. A vibrant rental market.

A growing body of data in recent months has suggested that better days are on the horizon for the nation’s battered housing market, though it remains clear that a turnaround won’t come quickly.

The latest harbinger of (mostly) encouraging news: the annual State of the Nation’s Housing report released Thursday by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, which details more signs of revival.

“While still in the early innings of a housing recovery, rental markets have turned the corner, home sales are strengthening, and a floor is beginning to form under home prices,” Eric S. Belsky, the center’s managing director, said in a statement accompanying the report.

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Brown-Warren race coming up short, some say

Boston Globe

June 15

Quoted: Richard Parker

Topic: Massachusetts Senate race

Five months before voters go to the polls, political veterans from both sides of the ideological divide are bemoaning what they see as the lack of an elevated policy debate in the Massachusetts US Senate campaign, in contrast to some of the state’s great Senate contests of the past....

Brown and Warren’s public dialogue more often seems rooted in competing opposition research playbooks compiled on the rival’s background. Both have accepted invitations to four debates but only two in common, with Brown’s campaign refusing to negotiate directly with Warren’s on the lineup.

“This is more like Louisiana, not Massachusetts,’’ said Richard Parker, an economics professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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Analysis: Spectre of second eurozone depression too close for comfort Scotsman.com

June 14

Commentary by: Dani Rodrik

Topic: Analyzing the prospects of a Eurozone collapse

CONSIDER the following scenario. After a victory by the left-wing Syriza party, Greece’s new government announces that it wants to renegotiate the terms of its agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

German chancellor Angela Merkel sticks to her guns and says that Greece must abide by the existing conditions.

Fearing that a financial collapse is imminent, Greek depositors rush for the exit. This time, the European Central Bank refuses to come to the rescue and Greek banks are starved of cash. The Greek government is ultimately forced to issue drachmas in order to supply domestic liquidity.

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Broadcast Notes

Eric Belsky, Joint Center for Housing Studies
NPR “Morning Edition,” 6/14
Topic: The State of the Nation's Housing 2012 report