Welcome to ThinkProgress Economy’s morning link roundup. This is what we’re reading. Have you seen any interesting news? Let us know in the comments section. You can also follow ThinkProgress Economy on Twitter.
- “Unemployment rates rose last month in more than half of the nation’s largest metro areas,” according to a new report from the Labor Department. [Huffington Post]
- In its final ruling, the Federal Reserve capped the amount that banks can charge retailers for debit card transactions at 21 cents, “a substantial boost from the seven- to 12-cent cap originally proposed by the Fed in December.” [The Hill]
- “Nearly nine in 10 Americans say homeownership is an important part of the American dream,” according to a new New York Times/CBS News poll. [New York Times]
- Senate Democrats plan to call for “eliminating the $126 million in tax breaks for the horse-racing industry that [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell (R-KY) secured in the 2008 farm bill,” as part of a broader campaign against unwarranted tax breaks. [Roll Call]
- “U.S. banks hold a much higher rate of defaulted mortgages on their books than do mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” according to a new report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency/ [Wall Street Journal]
- Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill forcing online retailers in California to collect sales taxes, in “the latest attempt by a state to force Internet retailers to collect taxes on online sales.” [Wall Street Journal]
- “Roughly 530 colleges across the country will soon have to submit special reports” to the Department of Education, “explaining why their tuition and student fees have recently surged.” [CNN Money]
- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the Treasury Department, announced that reports of mortgage fraud were up 31 percent through the first three months of 2011. [Huffington Post]
- During his press conference yesterday, President Obama called on Congress to “renew a payroll tax cut that took effect on Jan. 1, one of several steps he said lawmakers can take quickly to help reduce 9.1 percent unemployment.” [CNBC]
- Federal investigators said yesterday that Massey Energy “the owner of the West Virginia mine where 29 men were killed in an explosion last year, misled government inspectors by keeping accounts of hazardous conditions out of official record books where inspectors would see them.” [New York Times]
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