Econ70

August new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,011,000, and July’s sales were revised up from 901,000 to 965,000. New home sales are up a whopping 43.2% Y-o-Y and 14.9% YTD! As for August…

In the Eurozone, a key monthly purchasing manager sentiment index for service providers declined from 50.5 to 47.6 in September (below 50 signals contraction), its worst reading since May; for manufacturers the index rose from 51.7 to 53.7, tops in…

Economists believe in free markets and the prices and outcomes they produce because they are generally much more efficient than the alternatives. Some, however, argue that government should have a larger role and point, for example, to the very high…

There have been 119 Supreme Court Justices. The current number of nine came to be in 1869 after six earlier efforts. The longest serving, William O. Douglas at 36.6 years. Justice Ginsburg was on the bench for 27.1 years. She…

The Friday File: The fifth most popular US sports team name (including high schools, junior colleges, colleges, semi-pro leagues, and all professional leagues) is Wildcats with 969 teams. In fourth place is Panthers with 1,124 and in third is Bulldogs…

Housing, autos, retail sales, and equities are doing well, as is manufacturing. But first-time claims for unemployment remain stubbornly high and permanent job losses are rising as the service sector necessarily shrinks. Congress and the White House can’t agree on…

Taxes paid to state and local governments are currently deductible up to a maximum of $10,000/year. There is now talk of eliminating the cap. Why? 96% of the benefits of repeal would go to the top 20% of income earners,…

While the CPI rose by 1.3% Y-o-Y and core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy, is up 1.7% Y-o-Y, their highest levels since Sars-Cov-2 arrived, inflation will not be a concern for years. Inventory shortages, which have been…

In 7/20, 52% or 26.6 million adults ages 18-29 lived with at least one parent, up from 47% or 24 million in 2/20. This is the highest percentage since at least 1940 when it was 48%. This percentage bottomed at…

The Friday File: In 20Q2, liquor imports totaled $1.8 billion, down from $2.5 billion in 19Q2. The decline has been severe for whisky and cognac/brandy; vodka and gin sales haven’t budged. With bars/restaurants closed, demand for high-end cocktail hooch is…