Econ70
The deep recession in Greece and the milder one in Portugal don’t matter to the overall performance of the euro-zone, as they are less than 5% of the area. They are, proof that during a recession repeated government spending cuts…
According to the Census Bureau, the number of people under 18 fell by 260,000 between 7/1/10 and 7/1/11. The last decline in the child population was in the 70s when the boomers were no longer teens but not yet adults.…
Valentine’s Day spending this year is expected to reach an all-time high of $17.6 billion. Among the 140 million Americans planning to celebrate, average spending will be $126.03, up 8.5% over last year. The average male will spend $168.74 the…
The combination of high agricultural land values, competition for land from corn, soybeans and other crops, severe drought, the high price of feed and surging exports have raised live cattle prices to a record $1.26 per pound. Yet, farmers continue…
The Friday File: Economists find that an underdog tennis player is more likely to win if the winner of that match must then play a top ranked opponent. The highly ranked next opponent causes both players to “save” themselves so…
As Congress considers–and eventually extends–a temporary payroll tax cut and extended unemployment benefits past 2/12, it should note that if both lapse GDP in ’12 would be reduced by 1%, when GDP growth is only 2%. They might also note…
The latest employment report was great, but a little perspective, please. The labor force participation rate is now 63.7% it lowest level since 5/83! (The all-time high was 67.3% in 3/00). Worse, since the recession ended in 6/09, rather than…
As the Greek government defaults on its bonds, holders of Greek credit-default swaps will probably get nothing as the default will be “selective” and will thus not officially trigger a default. This not only hurts banks who thought they were…
The DC Transit system’s (bus and subway) annual budget is $1.56 billion. Half the money comes from fares, half from subsidies. About 675,000 roundtrips are taken daily. That works out to an annual subsidy of $1,100 per rider. Capitalized, that…
The Friday File: Since ’09 NFL teams have given big bucks to politicians. The Texans gave the most at 293K, the Chargers were next at 172K and the Jets were 3rd at 148K. They also favored Rs 2 to 1…