Timothy Aeppel

Number of the Week: Class of 2013, Most Indebted Ever

blogs.wsj.com — 30,000: The average student-loan debt for a borrower who received a bachelor's degree in 2013. The class of 2013 entered college just as the economic recovery was beginning in June 2009, but while their job prospects are better than other recent graduates, their debt burden is heavier.

Pakistan’s Railroads Sum Up Nation’s Woes

nytimes.com — RUK, Pakistan - Resplendent in his gleaming white uniform and peaked cap, jacket buttons tugging his plump girth, the stationmaster stood at the platform, waiting for a train that would never come. "Cutbacks," Nisar Ahmed Abro said with a resigned shrug. Ruk Station, in the center of Pakistan, is a dollhouse-pretty building, ringed by palm trees and rice paddies.

Rising Wages Pose Dilemma for China

online.wsj.com — China is showing rapid increases in wages and signs of resilience in hiring despite slowing growth, a reassuring sign for leaders seeking to put more money in the pockets of ordinary Chinese, but a trend that could prove difficult to sustain as countries nearby threaten to encroach on China's manufacturing dominance.

Most States See Better Jobs Picture

blogs.wsj.com — See the full interactive graphic. The job market is getting better in most of the country - but not quickly, and not evenly. Forty states saw their unemployment rates fall in April, although most of the changes weren't statistically significant, the Labor Department said Friday.

Historical Echoes: The “Mississippi Bubble” - When One’s Back Could Be Rented Out as a Writing Desk

libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org — In 1720, the very same year that England was experiencing the "South Sea Bubble" (see our post), France was experiencing a bubble as well-the "Mississippi Bubble."

Playing the IRS card: Six presidents who used the IRS to bash political foes

csmonitor.com — The Obama administration isn't the first to face criticism of using the Internal Revenue Service as a political hit squad. Since the advent of the federal income tax about a century ago, several presidents - or their zealous underlings - have directed the IRS to turn its formidable police powers on political rivals.