While inflation-adjusted median household income was $53,657 in 2014 up slightly from $51,086 in 1991 (and down from the 1999 peak of $57,843), not all households have fared equally over the past quarter century. Those headed by someone with an…
Today’s housing data was mixed. There were slight upward adjustments to January and February and year-to-date housing starts are up 14.5%. But, Q1/15 was the worst quarter for housing starts last year. If starts remain on their current pace, the…
While the economy may not be sparkling, labor market hiring is excellent! Last week first-time unemployment claims fell to 253,000, the lowest reading since 1973 and the 58th week in a row that initial jobless claims have been below 300,000,…
The Friday File: Americans spend 7.6 billion hours and $140 billion complying with the 5 million words in the ever changing and expanding US tax code and accompanying regulations. In 2013, the latest year for which data is available, 138.3…
While the US remains a global bright spot and the Fed aims to raise rates twice this year, the June meeting may not be when they raise rates. This is because the United Kingdom’s referendum on whether or not to…
With the 10-year Treasury at 1.78% and 30-year mortgage rates reaching their 2016 low last week at 3.59%, and with the IMF again downgrading their estimate of global growth, there’s talk of 30-year mortgage rates possibly reaching the 3.35% low…
While Bitcoin may or may not become mainstream, the blockchain technology that undergirds it, a “distributed ledger” which is a database maintained not by a single actor but by many participants simultaneously, slowly will. Financial trades could be settled instantly…
As Japan and Europe sink further into negative interest rate territory, the impacts here are undeniable. In an effort to earn positive returns, European and Japanese investors sell their currencies to purchase ours pushing up our dollar, hurting exports, weakening…
The Friday File: Contrary to popular belief, the United Kingdom ranks just 4th in global per capita tea consumption at 3.7 lbs/person/year. Uzbekistan is 3rd at 4.6 lbs/person/year, Ireland is 2nd at 4.7 lbs/person/year while the Turks consume the most…
Q3 consumer delinquencies rose from a record low of 1.36% in Q2 to 1.41%. These levels are substantially below the 15-year average of 2.25%, a level last seen roughly four years ago. Mobile home loans have the highest delinquency rate…