Month: October 2012
Halloween spending is expected to hit $8 billion this year. $6.9 billion was spent in ’11 and the cyclical low of $4.8 billion was in ’09. Spending on pet costumes is way up with $370 million projected to be spent…
Read MoreWith Sandy disrupting 25% of the population for roughly three-quarters of a percent of the year, its maximum impact shouldn’t exceed $30 billion. But it’s probably less due to heavy telecommuting, Netflix and Amazon! Had Sandy hit an oil refinery…
Read MoreBy setting the value of the Renminbi unfairly low, Chinese exports are made artificially cheap, while (American) imports are artificially expensive. Normally, this would lead to a large increase in the money supply which would drive up domestic prices and…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Of the six actors who have played James Bond, Pierce Brosan was the most violent, knocking off an average of 19 people per film. The short lived George Lazenby, had the most conquests, beating out Sean Connery…
Read MoreAs healthcare co-payments rise, labor productivity drops as, unsurprisingly, employees buy fewer prescription drugs. For example, employees with chronic pain had 76.7 hours absent from work. But, for every $5 rise in their co-payment, absenteeism increased 1.3% to 3.1%, or…
Read MoreWhile the economy is hardly roaring, Q3 GDP growth will be 2%, which is pretty good compared to month or two ago when 1.5% is what I would have predicted. Moreover, QE3 should boost Q4 GDP. That’s because the promise…
Read More24 million workers work 30 hours/week or less. For the purpose of Obamacare, these are part-timers and need not receive employer provide healthcare. Another 10 million workers work between 30 and 35 hours/week. If employers can hold those 10 million…
Read MorePeak Employment The employment to population ratio peaked at about 65% and just prior to the last recession was 63%. During the recession, the rate quickly plummeted to about 58.5% and has barely budged since. While part of the decline…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Old tennis rackets focused on power and a sweet spot. With new polyester blend strings, topspin is in. For every 100 rpm’s of topspin you reduce distance travelled by 6 to 12 inches. Spin is created three…
Read MorePoor families that moved out of bad neighborhoods into mixed-income ones through the use of vouchers, did not show any rise in income level or educational attainment compared to a control group that did not move. Mover families were, however,…
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