Month: April 2014
While hostilities along the Ukraine-Russian border appear to be heating up, expect markets to ignore it. Absent direct US or EU involvement, this conflict has virtually no relevance to western markets. This is similar to Syria, where once US involvement…
Read MoreIn 2013, federal government receipts (think taxes) totaled $2.778 trillion, while spending was $3.455 trillion, resulting in a 2013 deficit of $679.5 billion– 4.1% of GDP. The largest deficit ever was in 1943 during WWII when inflation adjusted; receipts were…
Read MoreWith an increase of 4.5 billion barrels of crude oil in 2012, America’s proven reserves are now 33 billion barrels, their highest level since 1976 and have been rising since 2009. Moreover, the increase in reserves in 2012 was the…
Read MoreThe Friday File: In 1960, among married couples 21% of the time one spouse was better educated than the other; two-thirds of the time it was the husband. By 1990, 38% of married couples were unequally educated and 60% of…
Read MoreFor the 12 months ending 1/31/14, S&P 500 firms spent $478 billion buying back outstanding shares, and in the quarter ending 1/31/14 spending on buybacks rose 29% compared to a year earlier. Seems the higher the stock price, the more…
Read MoreRenita D. Young of The Times Picayune writes about Elliot Eisenburg’s predictions on nola.com. Click here to read the article.
Read MorePolicies that didn’t help the economy recover from the Great Recession include tax credits for business investment and the first-time home buyer credit which didn’t exclude new homes as they incentivized new construction when there already was excess plant and…
Read MoreWhile hoping for a change of regime in Iran that forswears nuclear weapons is a lovely idea, it’s not policy. Rather, for diplomacy to work with a recalcitrant partner such as Iran, you need a continuous coercive element. As such,…
Read MoreTwo caveats from last Friday’s decent labor report. First, rising temp employment, formerly a leading indicator of full-time employment, is no longer. Since 4/10, the number of temp workers is up 58%, while overall employment growth is up 7.8%. Second,…
Read MoreThe Friday File: The most popular condiment in the US is mayonnaise, and by a wide margin. Last year mayo sales totaled $2 billion. Ketchup was a distant second at $800 million, followed by soy sauce at $725 million, barbecue…
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