The Bowtie Economist's Daily Dose of 70-Word Wisdom


Walking Dead

08/07/2013

In 1980, a record 8,070 pedestrians were killed crossing streets. By 2009, the number hit an all-time low of 4,109. Since then it has been rising, to 4,280 in 2010 and 4,432 in 2011. Pedestrians account for 14% of traffic…

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Terrible Tactics

08/06/2013

The GOP threat to close the government on 10/1 if the 2014 budget contains any funding for Obamacare is laughable. Obama will veto any bill that defunds his signature achievement and a veto override is impossible as it requires a…

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Banking on Leverage

08/05/2013

A proposal to increase capital ratios for the biggest financial firms to 6% for bank subsidiaries and 5% for bank holding companies while good, presents a huge loophole. A $150 billion bank would need $7.5 billion in capital. But if…

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Boys and Girls

08/02/2013

The Friday File: In the US there are 105 boys born for every 100 girls. Older mothers give birth to more girls. By age 40, women give birth to 104 boys for every 100 girls and with each successive birth…

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Regulation and Its Unintended Consequences

08/01/2013

Looking around the United States there are cities like Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, DC that have very high house prices. Yet there are equally successful cities like Austin, Dallas, Louisville and Oklahoma City that have much more affordable home…

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Declining Delinquency

08/01/2013

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac report that the rate at which single family mortgages that are three months in arrears or in foreclosure declined to 2.77% and 2.79% respectively in June, down from all-time highs of 5.59% and 4.20% respectively…

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Ignoring the Problem

07/31/2013

Senator Warren’s proposal to make student loans available at just 0.75% actually exacerbates the problem. Cheap loans will increase the number of college applicants, allowing universities to raise prices, like builders did during the bubble because credit was easy. The…

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Week that Was

07/31/2013

With the July consumer sentiment number rising to 85.1, it’s now at its highest level since 7/07, and way up from its all time low of 55.3 set in 11/08. Add to that a sharp rise in non-defense durable goods…

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Economic Do-Over

07/29/2013

The 14th comprehensive benchmark revision to all GDP accounts from 1929 forward will be released later this week. The revisions will probably show faster recent GDP growth bringing it line with improved employment numbers in 2012, higher labor productivity growth,…

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Fly With Facts

07/26/2013

The Friday File: While flying seems risky compared to automobile travel, seems is the operative word. For the decade ending in 2008 passenger fatalities per 100 million miles were 0.72 for automobiles, 0.05 for buses and trains and 0.01 for…

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