Month: March 2024
The Friday File: This past Wednesday, former senator Joseph Lieberman died; he was 82. His political career began in the Connecticut state house in 1970. In 1988, won election to the US Senate, becoming the first Orthodox Jew in the…
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The FTC is challenging Kroger’s acquisition of Albertson’s. The FTC claims Walmart/Target aren’t supermarkets, that Sprouts/Whole Foods are premium stores, that Dollar stores are limited, and that Aldi/Lidl are “limited assortment stores.” FTC thus claims this merger of the top…
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The accidental destruction of the critical Francis Scott Key Bridge has rendered the Port of Baltimore unusable indefinitely. The Port is the 11th largest by container imports with 559,000/year 20-foot equivalent units. LA/Long Beach is tops at 8.2 million, then…
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While the economy may be super and an economic soft landing may be right around the corner, U.S. households are increasingly tapping into their IRA/401(k) retirement accounts. In 2018 and 2019 that percentage was about 2%. In 2020, despite Covid,…
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3/21/24 marked the 625th consecutive day of the inversion of the 2-10 yield curve. This means the yield on the 2-year Treasury has consistently exceeded the yield on the 10-year Treasury since early July 2022, breaking the record of 624…
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The Friday File: Between 2000-2023, the average number of UFO sightings per 100,000 persons in the US was 34.3. Lincoln County, NV, where fabled Area 51 is located, is tops at 820.9. Next is Arthur County, NE at 618.6, then…
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While retailers closed 5,000 net stores in 2019, 6,000 net stores during pandemic-plagued 2020, and several hundred in 2021, since then the improvement has been amazing. In 2022, 1,500 net stores opened, in 2023 almost 500 opened, and YTD, 750…
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Despite many households locking in low mortgage rates, household interest expenses are skyrocketing. In 00Q4, the peak of the dotcom boom, interest expenses/GDP hit an all-time high of 2.2%. In 07Q2, shortly before the onset of the Housing Bust, interest…
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The cost to a mortgage lender to complete a residential loan in 23Q4 was $12,485, the second highest level in the history of the series, and up from $11,441 in 23Q3. Unfortunately, revenue per loan barely rose. As a result,…
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While the long-term impact of NAR’s agreement to end litigation brought on behalf of sellers, related to broker commissions, may take a while to become apparent, the immediate results were clear. On Friday, the day the agreement was announced, the…
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