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


Payroll Problems Persist

07/08/2011

Nonfarm payrolls rose by a profoundly dismal 18K in June, way below the 125K gain expected by economists! Making things worse, job gains in May were revised down to 25K from 54K. The unemployment rate inched up by 0.1% to…

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Implanted Explosives

07/07/2011

The Law of Unintended Consequences: First our bodies and carry-on luggage were scanned before getting on a flight. Then, it was our shoes; still later it was gels and liquids. But to be successful terrorists must stay one step ahead…

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Duty, Taxes and Behavior

07/06/2011

While Americans are huge consumers of energy, Israelis are stingy. And, tax policy is why! The duty on all new cars is 100% (yes, 100%) and gas costs about $7.25/gal. As a result, most cars are small and get great…

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Israeli Gas Prices

07/05/2011

On the 2nd to last day of each month the Israeli gov’t determines the maximum price gas may be sold for the next month. So, on the 29th of June the gov’t announced that the maximum price gas may be…

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Boycott Brings Benefit

07/01/2011

Sorry about not blogging yesterday; I was floating in the Dead Sea. As for the cottage cheese boycott; it’s over. Two days ago the largest dairy in Israel caved in to the nation-wide boycott and reduced the price by 21%.…

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Booming Israeli Economy

06/29/2011

The Israeli economy is booming! Unemployment is 6%, house prices are rising at a healthy clip and construction activity is ubiquitous. In 2 days, I have counted over 100 over cranes in use and new multifamily construction is literally, skyrocketing.…

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Legal Labels!

06/28/2011

Last week the Supreme Court shielded makers of generic drugs from suit as long as their labels follow the brand-name (BN) counterpart. As a result consumers harmed by inadequate warnings can obtain relief only if they purchase BN drugs. The…

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Cottage Cheese Boycott

06/27/2011

Greetings from Jerusalem! Amazingly, the big issue here is the high cost of cottage cheese! An 8 oz tub costs $2, twice the price it is in Europe. Consumers are outraged and are boycotting all cottage cheese. The high price…

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Car Rental Rationality?

06/24/2011

Airlines and hotels charge cancellation fees but not car rental firm. Why? I think it’s because car renters usually arrive by plane and then go to a hotel. The car rental agency can thus free ride on the cancellation policies…

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New House Sales Slide

06/23/2011

You are in a whole new universe when existing and new housing sales slide 3.8% and 2.1% in a month and it’s treated as good news! The peak in new sales was 1.39 million in 7/05. The Median price of…

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