Month: July 2012
The LIBOR scandal is the result of greedy banks. But banks are no greedier today than they were decades ago. The difference is now banks are so big, and involved in so many activities (investment banking, commercial banking, insurance, underwriting…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Decades ago women faced substantial workforce discrimination, had limited control over their fertility, and due to limited labor saving devices, housework was hard. Thus, women looked to find a working man to marry. Today both spouses work,…
Read MoreA month ago Europe bailed out Spanish banks but left Spain on the hook for the full $125 billion loan. Since there was immediate concern Spain might default on the debt, and that the new debt was senior to all…
Read MoreTax rates on dividends will rise from 15% up to 43.4% on 1/1/13 if the Bush tax cuts aren’t extended. Due to behavioral changes, it won’t raise much in taxes. Firms will immediately use money planned for dividends for share…
Read MoreThe US has a total land area 2.3 billion acres. In ’07, the major land uses were forestland at 671 million acres (30%), grassland pasture and rangeland at 614 million acres (27%), cropland at 408 million acres (18%), parks and…
Read MoreQ1 ’12 GDP was composed of personal consumption expenditures (C) totaling $11.0 trillion, private investment (I) of $2.0 trillion, government spending (G) of $3.0 trillion and net exports (E) of -$0.6 trillion. In Q2, G will be slightly lower, with…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Bureaucrats write regulatory orders that are generally incomprehensible because they try to obscure the fact that they’re forbidding you from doing what you want. Occasionally, a top regulator will force his/her agency to write in plain English.…
Read MoreThings can’t possibly be good when yesterday, in less than an hour, the ECB, The Bank of China, and The Bank of England all offered monetary medicine to the weakening global economy. Problem is, easier monetary policy won’t help much.…
Read MoreThis 4th of July, there’s a 33% chance your hot dog or pork sausage comes from IA, with the runner up states being NC and MN. There’s a 17% chance your burger comes from TX with NE and KS being…
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