Month: December 2012
Thank You! I want to take this opportunity to thank you all very much for your interest in my daily blog. I wish you and yours all the best for 2013. May it be a year full of employment, good…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Contrary to popular myth, suicide rates actually fall during the holiday season. In 2010, there were 38,364 suicides, making it the 10th leading cause of death with an average of about 105/day. July was the month with…
Read MoreIf Congress doesn’t extend the existing farm bill or pass a new one, milk prices will double. This is because price supports would be based on the 1949 Agriculture Act and would be $38/hundred-weight, as opposed to $20.83 now. Should…
Read MoreThe largest US mall is the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN with 4.2 million square feet (msqft). Next comes the Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles, OH with 3.2 msqft. Rounding out the top five are the South Coast Plaza…
Read MoreInflation, as measured by the Christmas Index, based on purchasing all 12 items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, rose 4.8% in 2012 and now stands at $25,431.18. The index rose 3.5% in 2011 and 9.2% in 2010. The most…
Read MoreThe Friday file: Chop and combine 5,000 pounds of watermelon, 1,300 pounds of cantaloupe, 1,000 pounds of honeydew, 2,250 pounds of pineapple, 200 pounds of apples and 360 pounds of strawberries and you have the world’s largest fruit salad weighing…
Read MoreHaving largely sidestepped the Great Recession, Canada is starting to look slightly shaky. House prices rose for the 19th straight month in October (been there) and household debt/GDP is 90% in Hockey Country while here it’s 77% after topping 90%…
Read MoreLast week, HSBC paid a $1.92 billion penalty for laundering money for murderers. Today, UBS is fined $1.5 billion for its part in rigging LIBOR over a multiyear period! While these banks will now “beef up their compliance procedures” and…
Read MoreAfter a 15% rise in September, housing starts climbed less than 4% in October, with the entire rise due to a 12% jump in multifamily starts; single-family activity was unchanged. November starts are likely to be flat to marginally down…
Read MoreSmall business became much more pessimistic in November with the major small business index tumbling 5.6 points, the steepest one-month decline in history! Consumers are slightly more optimistic with retail sales climbing 0.3% in November, offsetting the 0.3% decline in…
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