Econ70
Jobs, where are they? The Labor Dept. employment tally came in at 54K well off the 232K in April and 194K in March. While our economy may be entering another “soft patch” the thing is you don’t get 2 of…
The Institute of Supply Management’s Manufacturing Activity Index fell to 53.5 in May from 60.4. This shows the pace of manufacturing activity moderating since the index reached a 7 year high of 61.2 in March. Add to it a decline…
The cost of education is so high, student achievement so dismal and technology and computerized pedagogy sufficiently developed and ubiquitous that the long awaited education revolution is about to begin. If ed moves to an online teaching model students could…
In poor countries people spend much more on food than we do. In the Philippines 47% of income is spent on food. The amount is 45% in India, 40% in Vietnam, 36% in Indonesia, 33% in Thailand, 30% in China,…
The Indy 500 is more than a huge financial Memorial Day event. Via trickledown technology it has vastly improved our lives. Turbochargers were 1st used in ’52, rearview mirrors in ’11 and seatbelts after WWII. Wide low-profile tires now used…
Because Quantitative Easing Two (QE2), which is soon ending, forced interest rates down to record lows, stocks and commodities soared as investors’ searched for better returns than those available on Treasuries. US exporters also enjoyed the lift they received from…
When gas prices rise we become leery about driving. That lowers the value of homes far from jobs. But, by how much? If gas costs $4/gal and you get 20 mpg, each mile you drive costs $0.20. When commuting, you…
The gov’t of Iceland wasn’t smart. It just couldn’t afford to bail out its banks, so they failed and foreign creditors including the UK and the Netherlands got badly burned, to the tune of $6 billion. While Iceland has suffered,…
The output gap, the difference between what GDP is and what it could be, at 5.2% has never been this large this late in an economic recovery. Usually the gap has completely disappeared by the 2nd anniversary of the expansion…
Trade predates agriculture. The advent of ag sped up the trend towards specialization in temperate zones, but not in the tropics. Why, perishability. If you can store what you make (cereals) you trade it. And trade leads to cities, stable…