Econ70
Because demand creates supply building the Keystone XL pipeline makes sense. If we don’t build it Canada will build a pipeline to the BC coast and sell its energy to Asia, leaving us increasingly reliant on OPEC. Worse, the oil…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Psychology moves markets yet economists and others don’t appreciate it. Last month Liz Taylor’s spectacular jewelry collection went to auction and took in $116 million, five times pre-auction estimates. The auction more than doubled the record for…
Read MoreWhile being in debt is not so great for a household–because interest payments leave the household and go to a bank, or credit card company, debt can be tolerable for a country. If the debt is largely internally held (Japan),…
Read MoreHeavier cars are safer for their occupants, but more dangerous for all others. The baseline chance of being killed, given that you are in a collision, is one in 500. If you now increase the weight of one of the…
Read MoreLast year I made predictions; some right others wrong. Unless you know how good my predictions were, valuing them going forward is meaningless. With that in mind, I am pleased to inform you that 24 of my 32 ‘11 predictions…
Read MoreI want to take this opportunity to thank you all very much for your interest in my blog. I also wish you and yours all the best for 2012. May it be a year of health, joy, laughter and prosperity…
Read MoreWith the presidential primaries about to begin, what makes me nuts is watching Republican presidential contenders like Perry and Romney endlessly argue over who created more jobs as governor, including, gasp, government jobs. Yet out of the other side of…
Read MoreThe labor market is suffering from sclerosis. While employers are no longer firing workers – the percentage of workers laid off or fired in 10/11 was lower than in ’07, before the recession – they also aren’t hiring. Similarly, few…
Read MoreI am sure you will be delighted to learn that US banks earned profits of $35 billion in Q3 ’11, their best showing since before the recession. The up-tick is primarily due to banks putting aside less to cover bad…
Read MoreFarmland prices have doubled since ’06. The cost per acre in IA is now almost $7,000/acre up 32% since ’10. Inflation adjusted prices are higher now than in the late ‘70s which precipitated the farm bust of the 80s. Prices…
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