Chinese imports sagged a stunning 7.3% in June, suggesting weak demand. Moreover, auto sales fell for a 12th straight month in June and YTD are at their weakest since 2015. Also, June producer prices were flat, the weakest showing since…
The Friday File: Based on data through 2018, India, in 2014, had the largest number of registered voters for a national democratic election with 834,101,479. The US is a distant second with 214,109,367 registered voters in 2016. Indonesia is not…
Historically, new housing led to more local shopping, and thus higher local sales tax revenues. But due to online shopping, that relationship has been attenuated. Moreover, there is now heightened demand for downtown office space rather than suburban office parks.…
Despite department and clothing stores losing jobs (81,400 over the past year, down to 2.44 million), mall vacancy rates have steadied at 9.3% after rising for two straight years. And, the vacancy rate at strip malls fell to 10.1% in…
Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has proposed a wealth tax of 2% on those with wealth exceeding $50 million and a 1% billionaire surcharge. This tax will affect 75,000 households. Assuming no behavioral changes and no tax avoidance/evasion strategies,…
June’s strong 224,000 net new jobs were a huge relief after May’s weak showing and tariff traumas. That said, YTD job growth is 171,000/month, over the last 12 months it’s 192,000/month, in CY2018 it was 223,000/month; we’re slowing. Wage growth…
The Friday File: The busiest bridge on Earth, the George Washington, with over 100 million car crossings/year. The highest is the Chinese Beipanjiang Bridge with 1,854 feet between the bridge’s span and the ground. The tallest, the French Millau Viaduct,…
Tomorrow, based on the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the US celebrates its 243rd birthday. However, the United States officially became a sovereign nation by the Treaty of Paris, which was signed in 1783, making the…
Since the end of WWII, there have been eleven economic recoveries. While this one is now the longest, real GDP is just slightly more than 20% higher than its pre-recession peak. Measured this way, the current recovery ranks fifth, having…
Today, the current US economic recovery becomes the longest in US history at 10 years and one day, surpassing the previous record expansion of exactly 10 years and that ended in 3/01. At this point, I suspect this recovery will…