Total US WWII civilian and combat deaths totaled 405,399 and total such WWI fatalities were 116,516. Combined, losses in both world wars were 521,915. The total number of Covid-19 deaths that are confirmed and probable is now 582,734, greater than the entire population of Wyoming of 582,328, the … [Read more...]

The US economy created 266,000 seasonally adjusted jobs in April, well below the one million expected! Unadjusted, employers have created over one million jobs for three straight months. With most other labor numbers looking good, this suggests that seasonal adjustment for school, holidays, and … [Read more...]

The Friday File: The world’s longest walkable road stretches from Capetown, South Africa to Magdan, Russia. While there are bridges across rivers, there are no boat or ferry rides. The road is 13,670 miles and would take 570 days to complete assuming 8 hrs/day of walking at 3 mph. The journey covers … [Read more...]

FILE - In this July 11, 2008 file photo, a sign in front of the Fannie Mae headquarters in Washington is seen. Fannie Mae has again asked taxpayers for more money after reporting a first-quarter loss of more than $13 billion Monday, May 10, 2010.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, file) Fannie Mae … [Read more...]

While investment in single-family structures in 21Q1 rose 22% Y-o-Y, it totaled just $375 billion, or 1.7% of GDP, and is barely above the lows of all recessions except the Housing Bust. Conversely, in 21Q1 home improvement jumped to $325 billion, 1.5% of GDP, and has been steadily setting records … [Read more...]

In a pair of trials that may dramatically alter the economics of the $150 billion/year US app market, Epic Games, the maker of the very popular game Fortnite, is suing Apple and Google after both removed Fortnight from their respective app stores after Epic encouraged users to bypass them and make … [Read more...]

So far this earnings season, 87% of firms have beat analysts profit expectations, well above the normally inflated 65%. Moreover, the earnings beats have averaged 22.8%, crushing the 3.6% average since 1994. Why? Large firms have taken market share from failed small ones, and GDP is just 0.9% below … [Read more...]

The Friday File: In 2001, 17% of NBA shots were threes, in 2011 it was 22%, in 2016 it was 28%, and now it’s 40%! Moreover, players have been making more of their threes since 2017 than they did from 2012-2016! In 2016, when Stephen Curry led the Warriors to the NBA championship, they ranked second … [Read more...]

GDP grew at a pleasantly fast 6.4% annualized rate in 21Q1 and is now just 0.9% below its inflation-adjusted level on 12/31/19. It will surpass that level in mid-May 2020. By contrast, it took more than three years for real GDP to fully recover in the last recession. 21Q2 and 20Q3 GDP should easily … [Read more...]

During the upcoming redistricting cycle, Republicans will control map drawing in 188 House districts, Democrats 73, versus a 219-44 edge in 2011. The remaining seats are in states where power is split, a commission is in charge, or states have just one seat. States losing seats: CA (for the first … [Read more...]