70 Words
A marginal tax rate of 70% on income over $10 million would raise about $380 billion between 2020 and 2029. But if changes in taxpayer behavior are accounted for, revenue falls to about $350 billion. Assuming high-income owners of pass-through…
Last year, Airbus booked 747 new orders and delivered 800, the first time since 2009 that deliveries exceeded new orders. Boeing booked 893 net new orders and made 806 deliveries. Both firms’ total deliveries of 1,606 were a new high.…
In 2018, a volatile year for markets, just 38% of actively managed US stock funds outperformed their passively managed (indexed) counterparts, down from 46% in 2017, a placid year. Over the past decade, just 26% of actively managed funds beat…
The Friday File: In 2000, the average Billboard Top 100 song was 250 seconds, it’s since steadily declined and is now 210 seconds. Why? Each time a song is streamed the artist receives roughly half-a-cent/song, not per minute! Moreover, since…
Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $20.6 billion, up from $19.6 billion last year and exceeding the prior record high of $19.7 in 2016. This year, 51% of Americans plan to celebrate, down from 55% last year and well…
Economic growth in the European Union has consistently exceeded growth in the eurozone since the euro debuted on 1/1/99. The two most important reasons are a total loss of control over monetary policy and, maybe worse, since 2012 eurozone governments…
On 12/31/18 there were a record 7.335 million job openings, and 6.294 million unemployed persons, or 1.17 jobs/unemployed person, the ninth consecutive month openings have exceeded the unemployed. Relatedly, the number of job openings has exceeded the number hired since…
In an amazing turn of events, the US petroleum trade deficit in 11/18, the latest month for which we have data, was just $625 million. As recently as mid-2008 it was a record-high $40 billion/month. What happened? Lower oil prices,…
The Friday File: Until recently, licking was the only way to affix a stamp to an envelope. The caloric content in the adhesive on US stamps is/was 1/10 of a calorie, for UK stamps; on average 5.9 calories (different adhesives).…
The labor market is so strong the number of persons who left Social Security disability (which pays the same as working full-time at minimum wage) because they found gainful employment hit 51,302, the most since record keeping began in 2002,…