Econ70

The Friday File: In 2018, US per capita egg consumption is expected to be 279. While some wind up in cakes, souffles and sauces, many are eaten by themselves. The preferred way: it’s a tie between scrambled and fried, both…

Oil prices aren’t spiking (which caused the 1973 and 1979 recessions), neither are interest rates (1981 and 1983 recessions). Better yet, banks aren’t failing, nor is consumer confidence tanking (collectively helping cause the 1990 recession), nor are equity prices and…

Yesterday, rates on two-year and three-year Treasuries rose above the rate on the five-year Treasury, which probably lead to substantial algorithmic trading. While this isn’t a full-fledged yield curve inversion (YCI), which refers to the yield on the two-year Treasury…

That Xi and Trump have agreed to a framework to guide trade talks and delay more tariffs is good. But the fundamental trade problems remain. With politically savvy hardliner US Trade Representative Lighthizer heading the US negotiating team, the talks…

Superficially, Great Britain looks good despite Brexit. Unemployment is near a record low, wages are increasing at their fastest pace in a decade, and a huge budget deficit has shrunk. However, best estimates suggest UK GDP is 2% smaller than…

The Friday File: During the first five days retail marijuana stores (there are just two) were open in Massachusetts, from 11/20 through 11/24, customers bought $2.2 million of pot and pot products! The average amount spent per item, such as…

Despite excellent economic growth, rising wages, and the lowest unemployment rate in 49 years, inflation remains quiescent. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, core personal-consumption expenditure inflation, rose just 1.8% over the past year, and has been around that level, close…

World GDP is equal to roughly $80 trillion in nominal terms. One-quarter comes from the US, another quarter comes from Western Europe (about 20 countries) and Canada, another quarter comes from China (about 60% as big as the US), Japan…

Builder confidence is at its lowest level since 8/16, housing starts peaked in 1/18, and building permits in 3/18. As for existing housing, sales peaked in 11/17, pending sales peaked in 4/16, prices are rising noticeably slower, inventories are rising,…

After hitting almost $20,000 late last year, Bitcoin is now trading at about $3,500/coin. Worse, the amount of computing power used by Bitcoin miners to solve complex equations to earn payment in new Bitcoin, and in the process maintain the…