Econ70

While inflation is well below the Fed’s 2% goal, according to Fed Chairwoman Yellen 80% of the shortfall is evenly split between low energy prices and the strengthening dollar, with the remainder split between labor market slack and weak commodity…

In 11/07, the number of full-time workers peaked at 121.9 million, while the number of part-time workers totaled 24.8 million, including 4.3 million part-timers who couldn’t find full-time work. Last month, the number of full-timers hit 122 million, finally surpassing…

Any hope about a near-term resurgence in the manufacturing sector should be put to rest. The most recent readings for industrial production and capacity utilization showed a decline, as have all three Federal Reserve manufacturing indices along the east coast.…

Median household income in 2014 was $53,657, down from $54,462 in 2013 and is down 9.3% from the all-time high of $57,843 in 1999. Median household income is now roughly where it was in 1989 when it surpassed $53,000 for…

The Friday File: Americans spend about $1 billion/year on nail polish. The most costly, Rouge Louboutin at $50 for less than half an ounce. Revenues across all 53,815 nail salons are $8.5 billion/year with the number of salons up from…

After months of speculation, the Fed left interest rates unchanged. They expect to bump rates a quarter-point before year end, and anticipate raising rates by one percentage point per calendar year until the fed funds rate reaches 3.5% in 2018.…

The weakening of the Chinese economy impacts the US economy very indirectly. The US exports about $10 billion/month to China, slightly more than 0.5% of GDP and just 7% of all US exports, but imports about $40 billion/month. Slower Chinese…

The Good: unemployment is low and monthly job growth vastly exceeds the number of new job entrants. The bad: wage growth has been flat for years and inflation is non-existent (due to transitory factors such as falling gas prices and…

Many big banks have just agreed to pay almost $2 billion to settle allegations of rigging credit derivative markets. This comes on top of billions in penalties for rigging foreign-exchange, interest rate (LIBOR), and commodities markets. Worse, many were also…

The Friday File: On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning British monarch — and the 48th longest reigning monarch of all-time — eclipsing the record of 63 years seven months and two days set by her great-great-grandmother Queen…