Your customized headlines for Thu, Apr 26, 2012

Spain, already struggling to contain its public debts, may need to pump more taxpayer money into its ailing banks to clear away tens of billions of dollars in bad real estate loans, the International Monetary Fund reported on Wednesday.

Facing fire from the left and the right, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Wednesday mounted a spirited defense of the central bank's wait-and-see approach to the economy, arguing that his detractors fail to grasp the damage that could be done if the Fed were to prematurely take any new actions.

When it comes to the economic recovery, timing is everything — and so far, it's been off.

Take two engines of the economy: manufacturing and consumer spending. Manufacturing had been one of the bright spots of the recovery, but government data released Wednesday revealed that the industry suffered its biggest decline in three years in March. That's the same month that long-beleaguered consumers surprised economists by spending significantly more than expected.

BOGOTA, Colombia — With oil prices rising fast, nationalist governments in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia have squeezed multinational energy firms over the past decade, taking a greater stake in projects and jacking up taxes and royalties.

Congressional Republicans on Wednesday announced their opposition to a Democratic proposal to pay for extending low rates for college loans by imposing new payroll taxes on some small businesses.

Instead, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said the House would vote Friday on a proposal to hold the interest rates steady — offsetting the $6 billion cost with a cut in a health prevention fund created under President Obama's health-care law.

Spain, already struggling to contain its public debts, may need to pump more taxpayer money into its ailing banks to clear away tens of billions of dollars in bad real estate loans, the International Monetary Fund reported on Wednesday.

— Should the New York Times sell advance access to its stories? (And a follow-up.)

— Research finds that company team-building exercises are very effective... at breeding disconnection and mistrust.

— A good update on where things stand in the House-Senate stand-off over a new transportation bill.

Health policy discussions often take for granted the fact that Medicaid costs are spiralling out of control, becoming a huge burden on state budgets. Via Incidental Economist, a new Bloomberg Government study questions that assumption, suggesting that Medicaid's costs may be growing significantly slower than we think.

I like Glenn Hubbard, but I'm puzzled by his Wednesday op-ed:

Yes, President Obama and Mitt Romney have budgets with competing visions. But Gov. Romney's budget makes tough choices—tax reform that will require broadening the tax base, spending restraint to return federal spending to 20% of GDP by 2016, and reform of Social Security and Medicare to slow the rate of spending growth for more-affluent individuals.