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The US trade deficit widened by $2 billion from September to October and now stands at $42.2 billion. While Sandy is partly to blame for some of the 3.2% decline in exports, so is a slowing global economy. This means…
Read MoreAfter failing to monitor trillions (with a T) in wire transfers over a period of years, from very unsavory characters and regimes, HSBC agreed to a $1.92 billion settlement. HSBC encouraged vast illegal transactions because there’s so much money to…
Read MoreLast Friday’s mediocre employment report gives the Fed (meeting this week) ample reason to continue buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities at the rate of about $80 billion/month for the foreseeable future. As for the employment report, average hourly earnings rose…
Read MoreLotto Luck Lotteries are designed to raise government revenue and bigger jackpots lead to more sales. To that end, 42 states now cross-sell both Powerball and Mega Millions and while prices for each were doubled to $2 on 1/1/12, sales…
Read MoreIf all 1040-Schedule A deductions, including the mortgage interest deduction are capped at about $35,000, then homeowners with houses priced north of $500,000 would be the ones primarily affected, and their homes would fall in value. Interestingly, they might respond…
Read MoreHigher taxes on the rich will reduce their incentives to work, save and invest, clipping maybe 0.5% off of GDP. But that’s not the end of the story. The relevant question is: will the benefit to society of redistributing some…
Read MoreWith personal income growth flat, savings rates up and real disposable income down 0.2% in October, it’s not surprising personal consumption grew just 1.4%! The weak pace of income growth will limit Q4 GDP growth to less than 1.5% and…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Husbands that are close to their in-laws reduce the risk of divorce by 20%. However, wives that are close to their in-laws increase divorce risk by 20%. Why? Men who like their in-laws show how important their…
Read MoreMedian inflation-adjusted income (MIAI) for men in 2011 was $32,986, $14 shy of $33,000. While that’s $3,023 below the pre-recession high of $36,009 set in 2007, the all-time high of $37,017 was set in 2000. Worse, MIAI for men first…
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