Econ70

According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence rose to 137.9 in October, its highest level since 9/00. According to the University of Michigan, consumer confidence is at 98.60, down slightly from the 3/18 reading of 101.4, the best reading since…

With Republicans holding the Senate and Democrats taking the House, expect meaningful economic policy changes to take a break through 2020. Congress must ratify NAFTA 2.0 and the debt ceiling must be raised, and those will undoubtedly be accompanied by…

Last week, the Employment-Cost Index, which looks quarterly at wages and benefits paid to civilian workers, and another survey that looks at hourly earnings/month both showed wages rising at an annual rate of 3.1%, the fastest since 08Q3 and 9/09,…

Following a weak September in which job creation totaled a mere 118,000, October’s 250,000 was a pleasant surprise. Job growth over the last three months has averaged a robust 218,000. Moreover, every sector gained employment. Better yet, the unemployment rate…

The Friday File: Last week, India unveiled The Statue of Unity, which at 597 feet, is the world’s tallest statue, unseating The Spring Temple Buddah in China at 502 feet. Falling to third, The Ushiku Daibutsu in Japan at 394…

In 1995, there were 684.5 incidents of violent crime per 100,000 persons. That rate steadily declined through 2014 when it hit a low of 361.6, a staggering decline of 47.2%. Since 2014, the rate has risen and is now 394/100,000,…

If you eat enough candy, like anything else, it can be lethal. Given that the average fun-size candy bar has 9.3 grams of sugar and the average American weighs about 180 pounds, you would have to consume 5.4 pounds of…

In 18Q3, the vendor most popularly expensed by business travelers in North America was Uber, accounting for 11% of all transactions. Starbucks followed with 4.09%, while Amazon was third at 4.05%. Delta, American Airlines, Lyft, United Airlines, Walmart, Shell and…

At 3.5%, 18Q3 GDP growth was strong, but noticeably down from 4.2% growth in 18Q2. Household consumption grew a healthy 4%. Government spending rose a vigorous 3.3% and inventories rose by 2.1%, but both gains are transitory and thus short…

The Friday File: This is the last year Volkswagen will produce a version of its famed Beetle. Production of the original Bug ended in 2003; the longest automobile production run ever. There were a record 21 million produced, surpassing the…