Econ70

As recently as 1980, it took S&P 500 firms, on average, eight employees to produce $1 million in inflation-adjusted revenue. By 1990, it was six people, and by 2000, four. Lest you think productivity slowed, by 2010 it took just…

Monetary policy works most quickly via the most interest rate sensitive sectors of the economy, autos and housing. However, for very different reasons, both sectors have successfully resisted the impact of higher rates. Car sales are rising as semiconductor supply…

The Friday File: The city with the worst traffic is London where the average travel time per 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) is 36 minutes 20 seconds. In second is Bengaluru, India at a time of 29 minutes 10 seconds. Third…

22Q4 GDP came in at 2.7%, down from 3.2% in 22Q3, primarily due to softening consumer spending, suggesting weakening. However, in January the Fed’s favorite inflation measure meaningfully rose, with December’s reading being revised upwards. Consumer spending jumped 1.8% M-o-M,…

Venture-capital firms raised a grand total of $20.6 billion in 22Q4, a 65% decline from a year ago, the lowest fourth-quarter amount since 2013, and returns fundraising to levels last seen in 2015. It was also less than half the…

The Fed is currently focusing on what is called super-core inflation, defined as overall CPI minus food and energy, goods, and housing. Food and energy are 11% of consumer spending, housing is 16%, and goods are 24%. Thus, super-core inflation…

Home sales eased for the 12th straight month in 1/23, the longest streak of monthly declines since 1999 when data collection began. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4 million, from 4.03 million in December, and 4.1…

The first restaurant to allow drivers to take meals “to go” was an In-N-Out Burger that opened in 1948, Jack in the Box followed in 1951. McDonald’s first drive-through was in 1975. In 2022, at U.S. fast-food restaurants 85% of…

Pounded Profit With 23Q1 earnings season almost over, it appears net profits for S&P 500 firms will be 11.3%. While this would be the sixth straight quarterly decline, and well down from their 21Q2 13% peak, it returns profits to…

At the end of 2022, 9.3% of subprime borrowers, those with FICO scores below 660, were 30 days or more behind on their car payments. This is the highest rate since 2010. In addition to being squeezed financially, it’s partly…