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The rise in merger and acquisition activity that is pushing up share prices should allow 2018 to equal or surpass the M&A record high of 2007. This will saddle US firms with not only record debt levels, but debt of…

When the Great Recession ended, there were 14.6 million unemployed job seekers in the US, but just 2.2 million job openings. The seekers/openings ratio was a dismal 6.6. Today, there are just 6.3 million job seekers and an all-time high…

If Trump wants to fight over trade, he should consistently impose tariffs and never use quotas. With tariffs, the artificially higher price results in increased revenues to the US Treasury. With quotas, the higher prices benefit foreign manufacturers. Also, never…

May’s employment numbers were excellent. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, a level last seen in 4/00! The unemployment rate for African Americans declined to 5.9%, the lowest level since record keeping began in 1/72, and the unemployment rate for…

The Friday File: The highest income zip code in the USA is Fisher Island, FL 33109; technically Miami Beach. It’s an island accessible only by boat, helicopter, or water taxi with population of 132 and average income of $2.5 million/year.…

While gun purchase waiting periods appear to have no impact on school shootings, as they are planned over a relatively long time, there are other benefits. Waiting periods appear to meaningfully reduce suicides as they are impulsive. Moreover, there’s no…

While there are many reasons healthcare is so costly, a doctor shortage may be one of them! In Netherlands, 14.6 of every 100,000 persons become a doctor. In Britain, the ratio is 12.8, in Germany it’s 11.3, and in France…

With a debt-to-GDP ratio of 132% (third highest in the developed world), a dismal economy, weak banks, a non-functioning euro-skeptic government that wants to vastly increase the deficit, now add the possibility of Quitaly, Italy quitting the euro! The Italian…

The Friday File: 63 years ago Patricia O’Grady moved into a Greenwich Village apartment; the rent was $16/month. And she never moved out. By the time she passed on this past March, her rent had zoomed to $28.43/month, ruled by…

Last week the Supreme Court legalized sports betting. Based on other nations with mature betting markets, this is a $100 billion/year (maybe a $150 billion/year) industry now that no one will be forced into black market offshore wagering and bookies.…