Archive for March 2017

The Friday File: In an explosive trend, celebrities are pampering their pooches with profoundly posh pads. Paris Hilton purportedly purchased a penthouse for her pup for $375,000. In an effort to be top dog, Nicole Ritchie paid a profound $1.1 million for a 2,000 ft2 palace. However, in the dog-eat-dog world of paparazzi playmates, Ricky…

With Dutch Prime Minister Rutte’s defeat of Eurosceptic Geert Wilders, anti-euro populist Marine Le Pen’s chances of winning France’s upcoming presidential election at 19% down from 34%, European businesses reporting the best economic conditions in six years, and inflation at its highest level since 1/13, Europe is on the mend. Thus, the European Central Bank…

With 17Q1 just about done, you would think macroeconomists would know what Q1 GDP growth will be, and you would be wrong! At one end, the Federal Reserve Bank of NY is estimating 3% annualized growth, while at the other end the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is predicting just 1% growth. The average of…

In 1920, coal mining industry employment peaked at 785,000. By 1980, that level was 228,000, the highest level since 1955. Employment then resumed its steady decline, and by 2000 was 72,000. It then slowly rose to a peak of 90,000 in early 2012. Since then it’s fallen dramatically and today coal mining employment is just…

The inability of Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare with the AHCA via the relatively easy reconciliation process, bodes poorly for tax reform. This is because the $337 billion in savings over the next decade from gutting Obamacare, was key to “paying for” a substantial reduction in tax rates without dramatically raising the deficit. Now,…

The Friday File: While it’s been 404 days since the death of Antonin Scalia, the longest Supreme Court vacancy isn’t in jeopardy. That record is 841 days and ended when Robert Grier took Henry Baldwin’s seat on 8/10/1846. However, since Congress settled on a nine-justice panel in 1869, the longest vacancy had, until just weeks…

In yet another sign that the labor market has largely recovered, in January 2017 the percentage of the labor force that voluntarily quit their job was 2.2%, or 3.2 million workers. That was the highest rate since September 2005, when, during the peak of the Housing Boom, the rate hit 2.3%. During the Great Recession,…

Despite a prolonged rise in house prices, bringing them back to where they were prior to the Great Recession, mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) is a pittance compared to a decade ago. Between 2003 and 2007, MEW averaged 7% of disposable personal income. From 2012 through 2015 it averaged negative 1% and in 2016 it averaged…