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After peaking at 40.8 million in 2007, the number of tax returns claiming the mortgage interest deduction has steadily fallen, and as of 2013, the latest year from which data is available, stands at just 33.3 million. Not surprisingly, the…

In 2015, single-family starts totaled 713,000 and in 2016, 783,000, up 9.8%. Remaining housing starts fell from 395,000 to 385,000. Overall, starts rose from 1.108 million to 1.168 million. Multifamily has recovered, but single-family starts remain at recessionary lows 7.5…

With unemployment very low at 4.7%, substantial fiscal stimulus will simply drive up wages and inflation, forcing the Fed to increase rates prematurely. Thus, Trump and Congress should focus on expanding the economy’s productive capacity, not increasing household consumption. This…

The Friday File: The average cost of raising a baby born in 2015 through age 17 for a middle-income married-couple is $233,610. Housing is the costliest single item, accounting for 29% of all spending, followed by food at 18% and…

Total undergraduate and graduate student enrollment in the US this past September was 19 million. Registration peaked in 2011 at 20.6 million. Matriculation at public four-year schools was 8.1 million, 5.7 million at public two-year schools, and 3.8 million at…

Healthcare spending totaled $3.2 trillion in 2015, up 5.8% from 2014, well above the rate of inflation, and now accounts for a dizzying 17.8% of GDP! However, it’s high-cost patients that drive these costs. The most expensive 1% of patients…

Dividing the number of cars made domestically by the number of cars sold here provides the US auto production percentage. Tesla wins as it exports almost half its cars so its percentage is 196%. BMW follows at 116%, then Ford…

Friday’s report showing a 0.6% rise in December retail spending was solid. While retail sales grew just 3.3% in CY16 and department store sales fell 5.6%, it’s because internet sales jumped 1.3% in December and 11.4% in CY16! Bears point…

The Friday File: While there are many business models used by retail clothing stores, such as fast fashion (H&M), haute couture, pret-a-porte, single-label (Polo), height & weight specific, discount (Marshall’s), and others, all involve a mark-up. I suggest that the…

Economists frequently talk about annual GDP growth and whether it will be 2% or 2.5% or 3%. These may seem like very small differences, but over time they are huge. Assuming population growth is 1%/year, it takes an excruciating 70…