Econ70
51 million turkeys costing $1 billion will be eaten this Thanksgiving by the 85% of Americans who will eat turkey. There is an 18% chance you bird comes from Minnesota and a 14% chance it comes from NC. The average…
Sales of heavy trucks, those weighing over seven tons, peaked at a seasonally adjusted rate of 555,000 in 8/06, but then buckled in the Great Recession to 181,000 by 5/09. Sales then quickly recovered to 479,000 by 6/15 then fell…
Talk of walling off Mexico, deporting illegals and ripping up NAFTA has, unsurprisingly, hit Mexico hard. Despite repeated increases in interest rates to defend the peso, one US dollar now buys 20.5 pesos, up from 18.3 right before the election,…
The Friday File: By requiring readers to understand characters’ motivations and intuit their feelings, reading literary fiction is highly correlated with, and possibly fosters, empathy towards others. Moreover, fiction readers also have richer social networks than those that read less…
Today’s weekly first-time unemployment claims data came in at a staggeringly low level of 235,000, the lowest weekly level since 11/24/73. The data has been strong for years and suggests very few layoffs. Additionally, October housing starts were very good!…
With Trump in charge, but with so much still unknown, GDP growth will probably be a bit faster in 2017; 2.3%. Still not high, but an improvement. Inflation will rise to 2.2% in 2017. While also not high, it’s much…
President-elect Trump’s and Congress’ preliminary policy ideas look possibly problematic for housing. On one hand, dismantling Dodd-Frank should loosen lending standards and tax cuts will put more money in our pockets. However, higher interest rates and a shrinking supply of…
Assuming Trump wins MI where he’s ahead, and Clinton wins NH where she’s ahead, the final electoral college tally will be 306 to 232 for Trump. The three states Clinton lost where she was closest to winning were Michigan, with…
The Friday File: The most extreme hyperinflation ever recorded was in 7/46 in Hungary at 41,900,000,000,000,000% or 41.9 quadrillion percent/month, amounting a doubling of prices every 15.3 hours. Most recently the award went to Zimbabwe in 11/08, when inflation peaked…
Trump’s plans to replace Fed Chair Yellen on 2/3/18 when her term expires is bad news; she is doing a very good job. What is worse, however, is his attacking the Federal Reserve for being politically motivated. These comments weaken…