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10-year Treasury yields are up for many reasons including a subtle shift in Fed policy. The average maturity of the Fed’s huge Treasury portfolio has declined from 7.5 years in 13Q4 to six. This reinvestment strategy raises long rates by…

While French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, whose platform includes pulling France out of the EU, is expected to win the first round of the French presidential elections on April 23rd with up to 27% of the popular vote, in…

Total household debt increased by $226 billion in 16Q4, and is just $99 billion below the peak of $12.7 trillion set in 08Q3. However, household debt is now just 67% of GDP, down from 85% at the peak. Moreover, back…

The Friday File: Michael Flynn’s career as White House national security advisor lasted a record-short 24 days. The shortest tenure in that post had previously been held by William Jackson, who served in the Eisenhower White House for 129 days,…

In 2015, the world’s most research-intensive nation was Israel, which invested 4.25% of GDP in research and development. Second was South Korea at 4.23%, up dramatically from 2.2% in 2000, but which has held spending flat since 2012. The US…

In 2015, US exports totaled $2.23 trillion. Canada, our largest export market, purchased 19%, or $423 billion of exports. Mexico was next at 16%. Collectively, both NAFTA partners purchased 35% of American exports. China was a distant third, purchasing 8%…

After spending a record $19.7 billion last year, or $146.84/celebrant, spending this Valentine’s Day is expected to be $18.2 billion; $136.57/celebrant. It’s partly because the percentage of Americans celebrating Valentine’s Day has declined from 63% to 54% since 2007. As…

While Trump’s policies will impact many nations, Mexico will be the most negatively affected. A stronger dollar will make repayment of its dollar-denominated bonds tougher and simultaneously raise inflation. To counter this, the Bank of Mexico has raised rates by…

The Friday File: While global wealth totals $255 trillion, the median wealth of all 4.8 billion global adults is just $2,222; the average is $52,819. In North America, it takes $4.47 million in wealth to be in the top 1%,…

In 2016, the US trade deficit hit $502 billion, its highest level in four years. In percentage terms, it fell to 2.7% of GDP, down slightly from 2.8% the last few years. By definition, the size of the trade deficit…