Econ70

Only 40% of container ships arrived on time in March, down from 70% pre-pandemic, primarily due to massive backups waiting to unload. Moreover, delivery delays stretch from docks to rail yards. These delays have increased the cost of moving a…

Aside of a bad Covid recurrence, here’s how a recession could occur. Due to supply chain problems and labor shortages, consumer prices and wage inflation rise quickly, spooking markets. Powell resists raising rates, but the pressure is too great and…

Traditionally, the retail inventory-to-sales ratio fluctuates between 1.4 and 1.5. In 4/20 it skyrocketed to 1.67 as we were locked down and stopped most purchases. By July, it collapsed to 1.2 as retailers stopped buying. By December, the ratio had…

Happy Homeland The Friday File: The USA is the 14th happiest nation on Earth, up from 18th last year and 19th the year before. The Scandinavian nations hold five of the top eight spots, and as a result Europe holds…

While increasing capital gains taxes is understandable, it discourages savings and investment, and some capital gains are simply the result of inflation and shouldn’t be taxed. However, taxing capital gains too lightly encourages the disguising of wages as capital income…

Job openings hit a record 8.1 million in March despite a staggering 9.7 million unemployed Americans. There were also 3.5 million quits in March, not far from the peak of 3.6 million in 7/19. Expanded unemployment benefits are reducing labor…

Total US WWII civilian and combat deaths totaled 405,399 and total such WWI fatalities were 116,516. Combined, losses in both world wars were 521,915. The total number of Covid-19 deaths that are confirmed and probable is now 582,734, greater than…

The US economy created 266,000 seasonally adjusted jobs in April, well below the one million expected! Unadjusted, employers have created over one million jobs for three straight months. With most other labor numbers looking good, this suggests that seasonal adjustment…

The Friday File: The world’s longest walkable road stretches from Capetown, South Africa to Magdan, Russia. While there are bridges across rivers, there are no boat or ferry rides. The road is 13,670 miles and would take 570 days to…

Fannie Mae recently reported the Single-Family Serious Delinquency rate fell to 2.58% in March from 2.76% in February. The all-time peak was 5.59% in 2/10, and its pandemic peak was 3.32% in 8/20. For loans made prior to 2005 (2%…