Last week a colleague of mine asked me which Twitter handles I follow for economic news. To answer his question and help you get a head start on Follow Friday, here’s a list of 10 Twitter handles that will help you keep up with the world economy or find the inspiration you’re looking for.
- @BetseyStevenson — Betsey was a Labor Department chief economist but is now a Wharton professor whose spending a little time at Princeton. She tweets about about gender inequality, offers telling insights into government data and is an expert in lovenomics and lifenomics.
- @JustinWolfers — Justin just looks like an Aussie surfer. He’s really an Aussie economist and a Wharton professor. He’s @BetseyStevenson’s other half and the brains behind the #FedValentines Twitter trend. He may or may not also surf.
- @baselinescene — This Twitter handle is manned by James Kwak and former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson. They tweet about banking, bailouts and financial regulation. They also are the brains behind the Baseline Scenario website and authors of 13 Bankers and White House Burning.
- @ritholtz — Barry Ritholtz has been one of my favorite bloggers for years. He has a knack for making the complex comprehensible, a sense of humor and a sarcastic, snarky streak. His Twitter feed is like his blog: straightforward, funny and brimming with data that’s worth digging into.
- @ChrisRugaber — One of the Associated Press’ leading economy reporters. He’s great at identifying trends, explaining US economic data in laymans’ terms and providing inspiration for local reporters sniffing for stories.
- @Pdacosta — Pedro da Costa is a Reuters journalist who covers the Fed and helps fuel Reuters’ Macroscope blog. He tweets voraciously about all things macro, monetary policy and international politics. He has a sharp sense of humor and deploys it smartly.
- @spiegelpeter — Peter is the guy to follow for European economy news. He’s the Brussels bureau chief for the Financial Times and a smart retweeter.
- @Reddy — Sudeep Reddy is a Washington-based Wall Street Journal economics reporter who tweets about the Fed, the IMF, US jobs, and the euro zone. You also may have heard him on Marketplace or seen him on the WSJ News Hub.
- @zerohedge — This sarcastic handle Tweets about banking, the global economy and the stock market, but the face behind it remains a mystery. It’s linked to the Zerohedge blog, which is credited with pioneering early reporting on flash trading.
- @NYTEconomix — This is the Twitter handle for the New York Times’ Economix blog. It Tweets really cool stuff like this:
— NYT Economix (@nyteconomix) May 18, 2012
