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To understand why income and wealth are becoming increasingly unequal in America, look no further than Facebook’s purchase of WhatsApp for $19 billion! That’s 40% more than the value of the median firm in the S%P 500. If shared equally…
Read MoreRecent housing data has been weak. It’s because the weather has been harsh, there’s a lack of developable lots and skilled workers, limited inventory, reduced investor buying, higher mortgage rates, fewer low-priced distressed sales and higher house prices. Despite these…
Read MoreWhile raising the minimum wage to $10.10 from the current $7.25 is estimated to eliminate 500,000 jobs and raise 900,000 workers out of poverty, that’s not the end of the story. Those numbers will steadily decline as inflation eats away…
Read MoreWith the Olympics almost over, among winter powerhouse countries the one that most positively surprised was Netherlands with 22 medals, double what was expected. Conversely, Austria, Germany, Norway and South Korea all won about 40% fewer medals than expected. Most…
Read MoreShould China suffer a hard economic landing, trade with its neighbors would fall along with commodity prices, hurting Australia, Brazil, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Singapore and Hong Kong would also suffer due to relatively large financial links with…
Read MoreAfter steadily declining for 19 straight quarters, total consumer debt increased in the past two quarters for the first time since 2008! Household debt grew by $130 billion in Q3 and by $241 billion in Q4. However, overall consumer debt…
Read MoreNon-farm private employment peaked at 115.5 million in 6/07 and is now 115.0 million, down half-a-percent and should hit a new high this May. By contrast, total public employment, which includes state, local and federal government employment, plateaued at 22.8…
Read MoreThe Friday File: The 53% of men who celebrate Valentine’s Day spend an average of $173, while the 54% of women who celebrate spend $97. By age, 25-34 year olds spend the most averaging $218, followed by 18-24 year olds…
Read MoreWhile December’s job growth number of 75,000 and January’s of 113,000 were disappointing and probably underestimate the health of the economy, we won’t get confirmation of that in February! That’s because the monthly employment survey is administered during the week…
Read MoreThe latest survey of bank senior loan officers doesn’t suggest a thaw in consumer lending. 93% of loan officers reported lending standards for issuing credit cards and consumer loans were unchanged, while 83% reported no change in their willingness to…
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