70 Words

NOBEL NOTICE

10/14/2025

Earlier this week, the 2025 economics Nobel prize was awarded to American-Israeli Joel Mokyr, Frenchman Philippe Aghion, and Canadian Peter Howitt of Brown University. Mokyr won it by explaining the conditions that enable economic growth. Aghion/Howitt explained how innovation and…

ODD OUTCOME

10/13/2025

While some forecast 25Q3 growth as high as 3.8%, this is undoubtedly due to booming EV sales ahead of the $7,500 tax credit that ended 9/30 and probably a sizable decline in net imports due to tariffs. The negative ADP…

MARKETING MOVE

10/10/2025

The Friday File: To be more inclusive and representative of their customers, Maxwell House is temporarily changing its name, for the first time in its 133-year history, to Maxwell Apartment. Ideally, the new limited-edition containers should hold less and cost…

MIGRATION MUDDLE

10/09/2025

Widely watched monthly net job growth figures have sunk 70% since 1/1/25. This could indicate the onset of a recession if population growth and concomitantly labor force growth is strong. However, it could also be the new normal if net…

DATA DICHOTOMY

10/08/2025

25Q3 GDP growth is projected to have grown as fast as 3.8%. Yet, simultaneously, unemployment is worsening, hours worked are largely flat, and ADP suggests September employment declined. How can this dichotomy be? Maybe there’ll be data revisions, maybe it’s…

INFLATION IRRELEVANCE

10/07/2025

The Case-Shiller home price index slid for the fifth straight month, and the Y-o-Y increase is just 1.7%. A year ago, it was 5%. Moreover, real home prices have been declining as inflation exceeds 2.5%. Critically, owner-occupied housing is an…

LARGE LAYOFFS

10/06/2025

In 25Q3, companies announced 202,118 layoffs, the highest third-quarter total since 2020, when 497,215 were recorded. So far this year, firms have cut 946,426 jobs, also the most for January–September since 2020. That’s up 55% from last year’s 609,242 cuts…

GOOD GRADE

10/03/2025

The Friday File: When asked to score 25 key sectors of the economy, Americans gave top grades to Farming & Agriculture with a positive score 60/100, followed closely by the Computer Industry at 59%. Restaurants are third at 52%. They…

LOSING LABOR

10/02/2025

With the government closed, the BLS’ September monthly job report due Friday is delayed. However, the September ADP private-sector jobs report, based on data from employers who use ADP and covering over 26 million workers, 19% of private-sector employment, showed…

STABLECOIN SCENARIO

10/01/2025

Stablecoins are backed by non-monetary assets, primarily government bonds. Importantly, you can transact with stablecoins without a bank account, but critically, stablecoin platforms lack access to the central bank. As a result, their stability will depend on redemption rules, which…

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