Econ70

The Friday File: The most used social-media site by teens today is Snapchat at 41%, followed by Instagram at 22%; just 15% say it’s Facebook. The craziest data: back in 2012, the last time this survey was administered, 49% of…

In an attempt to attract workers in a tight labor market, soothe both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, and raise payroll costs for competitors, Amazon is raising its minimum wage to $15/hour. Assuming they have 300,000 affected workers (and excluding…

With the latest hike in Fed funds rate to 2.125%, this is the first time in a decade the rate is equal or above the inflation rate; 2% as measured by PCE-core, the Fed’s preferred gauge. At this level, the…

The size of the US economy is $19 trillion. The 28 nations in the EU share a $17 trillion economy and China’s GDP is about $12 trillion. This year, the US economy will grow about 3.1%; that will add $590…

During the years 2002-2007, the number of persons working part-time because they were unable to find full-time work averaged 4 million/month; 3% of the labor force. At the worst of the recession, it peaked at 9.25 million/month; 6% of the…

The Friday File: According to the National UFO Reporting Center, in 1990 there were 315 global UFO sightings. Sightings then steadily rose, reaching 2,000 in 1998, over 4,000 in 2003, and peaked at 8,670 in 2014. Sightings have since plummeted.…

With the economy enjoying low inflation, very low unemployment, good growth, and sky-high consumer confidence, the Fed’s plan to hike rates at three-month intervals through 2019 is easy. It made no waves because the economy has had no adverse reactions…

Last year, when Hurricane Harvey barreled into Houston it destroyed $125 billion of property but reduced GDP by just $8.5 billion. Even Katrina, which did $161 billion of damage, reduced economic output by just $31 billion, and overall GDP was…

The most recent CEO survey of America’s largest corporations paints a strong, but slightly deteriorating, economic picture. At 109.3, the survey is at its fifth highest level in its 16-year history, but down from 111.1 in 18Q2. 55% of CEOs…

With existing home sales flat in July, and August at a rate of 5.4 million/year (solidly down from a peak rate of 5.7 million/year last November), I think existing sales move sideways from here on. Rising prices, higher interest rates,…