Econ70
The Friday file: Chop and combine 5,000 pounds of watermelon, 1,300 pounds of cantaloupe, 1,000 pounds of honeydew, 2,250 pounds of pineapple, 200 pounds of apples and 360 pounds of strawberries and you have the world’s largest fruit salad weighing…
Read MoreHaving largely sidestepped the Great Recession, Canada is starting to look slightly shaky. House prices rose for the 19th straight month in October (been there) and household debt/GDP is 90% in Hockey Country while here it’s 77% after topping 90%…
Read MoreLast week, HSBC paid a $1.92 billion penalty for laundering money for murderers. Today, UBS is fined $1.5 billion for its part in rigging LIBOR over a multiyear period! While these banks will now “beef up their compliance procedures” and…
Read MoreAfter a 15% rise in September, housing starts climbed less than 4% in October, with the entire rise due to a 12% jump in multifamily starts; single-family activity was unchanged. November starts are likely to be flat to marginally down…
Read MoreSmall business became much more pessimistic in November with the major small business index tumbling 5.6 points, the steepest one-month decline in history! Consumers are slightly more optimistic with retail sales climbing 0.3% in November, offsetting the 0.3% decline in…
Read MoreBy 12/31/13 the Greek economy will be 30% smaller than it was in 2008! And, it may not be done shrinking. Thus, the most recent Greek bailout is simply the latest “fix” with more to come! Worse, this tragedy becomes…
Read MoreThe US trade deficit widened by $2 billion from September to October and now stands at $42.2 billion. While Sandy is partly to blame for some of the 3.2% decline in exports, so is a slowing global economy. This means…
Read MoreAfter failing to monitor trillions (with a T) in wire transfers over a period of years, from very unsavory characters and regimes, HSBC agreed to a $1.92 billion settlement. HSBC encouraged vast illegal transactions because there’s so much money to…
Read MoreLast Friday’s mediocre employment report gives the Fed (meeting this week) ample reason to continue buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities at the rate of about $80 billion/month for the foreseeable future. As for the employment report, average hourly earnings rose…
Read More