The Friday File: Inflation, as measured by the Christmas Price Index, based on purchasing all items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” rose 0.7% in 2017 and cost $34,559. The costliest item, seven swans-a-swimming at $13,125, unchanged from 2016. Five…
In the District of Columbia, 17.3% of all houses are worth more than $1,000,000. California follows at 13.6%, with Hawaii in third at 13.5%. Rounding out the top six are New York at 7%, Massachusetts at 5.2%, and Connecticut at…
November existing housing sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.81 million, tops since 12/06! But, curb your enthusiasm! Inventory levels, which were already painfully low at 1.8 million, fell to just 1.67 million. They are 9.7% lower…
While total household net worth in 17Q3 hit a record $96.9 trillion, if ranked by net worth, households below the 85% percentile remain worse off than before the Great Recession! Thus, mean net worth of roughly $700,000 is at a…
While the final draft of the Republican tax-code rewrite improves its treatment of housing, the gains are superficial. This is because the standard deduction is being doubled, making itemizing largely irrelevant. And, while state and local income taxes will remain…
The Friday File: Tonight is the fourth night of Hanukkah, or Festival of Lights, and the 2,184th time this holiday is being celebrated. The tallest menorah, or candelabra, was 60 feet high, weighed 37,500 lbs, and was located in Latrun,…
In 1960, in 14.6% of marriages husbands had more education than wives. The reverse was the case 7.1% of the time. The remaining 78.3% of marriages had spouses of equal education. This imbalance peaked in 1980 when in 23% of…
The number of times the Fed boosts rates a quarter-point in 2018 will depend entirely on GDP growth and inflation. If both perk up, expect four hikes, if they both remain weak, expect two. The low and falling unemployment rate…
With competition already brutal in the ride-hailing sector – Uber lost almost $1.5 billion in 17Q3 – competition looks to get still more intense. Google is planning to employ as many as 24,000 autonomous vehicles, while GM and other big…
Employment growth was 228,000 in November and is averaging 170,000 jobs since August. The key takeaways: the job market is very strong, and growth is well distributed with solid gains across all education levels! The hurricanes have left no traces,…