The bottom line

Companies cut spending because of fiscal cliff

Over concerns about the fiscal cliff, major U.S. companies are reducing their spending at the fastest pace since the recession. Half of the country’s 40 biggest corporate spenders say they plan to cut investment spending this year or next in order to protect profits in the uncertain environment.

The Wall Street Journal

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Administrative bloat and tuition costs

Administrative bloat at U.S. universities is adding to the steep rise in tuition costs. U.S. universities employed more than 230,000 administrators in 2009, up 60 percent from 1993, or 10 times the rate of growth of tenured faculty.

Bloomberg.com

Market for new and existing homes improves

The market for both new and existing housing continues to improve. Housing starts rose 3.6 percent in October over the previous month, and 42 percent over a year earlier. Sales of existing homes last month were up 2.1 percent over September.

Los Angeles Times

Annual federal deficit as share of GDP decreases

The annual federal deficit has fallen faster in the past three years than during any comparable period since the 1960s. From fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2012, the budget deficit decreased from 10.1 percent of GDP to 7 percent.

Investor’s Business Daily

Federal rules for contracts get flouted

Despite federal rules that direct government contracts to small businesses, large companies are receiving billions of dollars more than they are supposed to. In the year that ended Sept. 30, 2011, about $4.7 billion of the more than $10 billion in contracts earmarked for businesses with fewer than 500 employees was given instead to major companies.

The Washington Post