Month: August 2013
The Friday File: Looking at both federally-mandated paid vacation and holidays among rich nations, Austria ranks number one with 35 days/year, Germany and Spain tie for second with 34, followed by Italy and France at 31, Belgium and New Zealand…
Read MoreThe most active Congress, as measured by the number of bills passed into law, excluding private bills, was the 84th (1955-1956) which passed 1,028 bills. Eisenhower (R) was President; Lyndon Johnson (D) was Senate Majority Leader and Sam Rayburn (D)…
Read MoreWhile the economy is improving, it’s now facing huge headwinds. They include the need for a Continuing Resolution, hitting the debt ceiling, Syria and its impact on oil prices, who will be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the…
Read MorePurchases of new homes plunged 13.4% in July to only 394,000, the steepest drop in years underscoring the uneven pace of recovery. Worse, April, May and June new home sales were revised sharply lower and are officially in the books…
Read MoreWhile Congress will inevitably pass a Continuing Resolution to fund the government beyond 9/30/13 when the current CR expires, a key question is at what spending level. If current funding levels are carried into FY14, as is usually the case…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Organizations often promise that 10%, 20%, or even all profits go to charity, while other firms promise that a percentage of revenues go to charity. Of course charitable giving is always good, but as a curmudgeonly economist,…
Read MoreSince housing is long-lived, when a city chronically loses population, the existing housing stock lowers house prices, preventing new construction and renovation activity, leading to deterioration in the housing stock. While cheap housing attracts the poor and slows population declines,…
Read MoreThe just-released minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting are a Rorschach test. For those reluctant to taper, there’s a nod to the still struggling labor market and the very low inflation rate. Conversely, others felt that the recent rise…
Read MoreHealthy labor markets consist of many things including low rates of involuntary termination and high rates of hiring. Usually they’re highly correlated. Not now. First time unemployment insurance claims at 332,000/week are at levels last seen in 11/07 before the…
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