Analysis........

The economic consequences of disaster :Japan

The toll in human misery wrought by the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan test the imagination of economists but the effects on Japan's gross domestic product and wealth are a different matter.

For want of a strategy

U.S. President Barack Obama needs cogent, well-argued strategy is needed for national security. For want of that strategy, the wars in all forms that confront us cannot be won.

Trade deficit jumps, destroys nearly 3 million jobs a year..

The U.S. Commerce Department reported the deficit on international trade in goods and services was $46.3 billion in January, up from $40.2 billion in December and $27 billion in mid 2009, when the recovery began.

A U.S. health insurance survey indicates...9 million lost healthcare in last 2 years

The Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey indicates 43 million adults age 65 and under who reported they or their spouse lost a job in the past two years had difficulty finding affordable healthcare.

Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, says only 25 percent who lost employer health insurance were able to find another source of health insurance coverage. Fourteen percent continued their job-based coverage through COBRA.

Purchasing individual health insurance was not a viable option for most who lost their jobs -- 71 percent of adults who tried to buy individual coverage in the past three years either found it difficult or impossible to find a plan that fit their needs; found it difficult or impossible to find a plan they could afford; or were turned down or charged a higher price for coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

"The silver lining is that the Affordable Care Act has already begun to bring relief to families and once the new law is fully implemented, we can be confident that no future recession will have the power to strip so many Americans of their health security," Davis says in a statement.

An estimated 52 million U.S. adults were uninsured at some point during 2010, up from 38 million in 2001.

U.S. home construction drops sharply

Housing starts in the U.S. declined more than forecast in February, marking the slowest pace since April 2009. New home construction fell 22.5 percent to a 479,000 annual rate, according to Commerce Department figures released today in Washington. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, fell 8.2 percent to a 517,000 annual pace. The producer-price index climbed 1.6 percent last month, the most since June 2009, Labor Department figures showed.

Builders broke ground on fewer homes in February than a month earlier, and the trend is not likely to improve anytime soon.

Construction of single-family and multi-family homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 479,000 in February, the lowest level since April 2009, the Commerce Department reported. That’s down 22.5 percent from January, the largest monthly plunge since 1984.

Meanwhile, fewer builders pulled permits in February, suggesting that construction is unlikely to pick up soon. Building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, the lowest level since the government began tracking the numbers in 1960.

The results suggest that builders lack the incentive to break ground given the stiff competition they face from the excess supply of existing homes — particularly the deeply discounted foreclosures that are flooding the national housing market.

“Until the market works through the overhang, there’s no need to ramp up production,” said Michael Larson, an analyst at Weiss Research. “The February numbers underscore the fact that new-home builders are at a steep competitive disadvantage.”

This week, a survey by the National Association of Home Builders showed that builder confidence edged up this month. But the group also said that the excess supply of foreclosures, appraisals that are coming in below construction costs, and tough lending standards for buyers and builders continue to hamper the new-homes market.

“There are just too many uncertainties out there for most builders and buyers to comfortably move forward with a new-home project at this time,