Month: June 2011
The Israeli economy is booming! Unemployment is 6%, house prices are rising at a healthy clip and construction activity is ubiquitous. In 2 days, I have counted over 100 over cranes in use and new multifamily construction is literally, skyrocketing.…
Read MoreLast week the Supreme Court shielded makers of generic drugs from suit as long as their labels follow the brand-name (BN) counterpart. As a result consumers harmed by inadequate warnings can obtain relief only if they purchase BN drugs. The…
Read MoreGreetings from Jerusalem! Amazingly, the big issue here is the high cost of cottage cheese! An 8 oz tub costs $2, twice the price it is in Europe. Consumers are outraged and are boycotting all cottage cheese. The high price…
Read MoreAirlines and hotels charge cancellation fees but not car rental firm. Why? I think it’s because car renters usually arrive by plane and then go to a hotel. The car rental agency can thus free ride on the cancellation policies…
Read MoreYou are in a whole new universe when existing and new housing sales slide 3.8% and 2.1% in a month and it’s treated as good news! The peak in new sales was 1.39 million in 7/05. The Median price of…
Read MoreIdeally Greece would leave the Euro, default on its debts, and get on with its economic existence. But, leaving the Euro would be a disaster for the Euro zone. So the Europeans won’t let it happen. Neither will the Chinese…
Read MoreWeak in Review: The latest jobless claims numbers are still troublesome. The key takeaway is that first time claims have now exceeded 400k for 10 weeks in a row and the four-week moving average is stuck at 425k. Moreover, the…
Read MoreUS births fell for a 3rd straight year. Births peaked at 4.3 million in ’07 but by ’10 births were just 4 million. In ’08 and ’09 the only increase in births was for women over 40. The decline is…
Read More37% of all net new jobs created since the recovery began were created in TX. TX has added 265K net jobs. NY was 2nd with 98K, PA 93K. TX is also one of 4 states that has more jobs now…
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