Posts Tagged ‘eisenberg and economics’
Federal Reserve Flexibility
The just-released minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting are a Rorschach test. For those reluctant to taper, there’s a nod to the still struggling labor market and the very low inflation rate. Conversely, others felt that the recent rise in interest rates would exert little restraint and that easier lending standards would help juice…
Read MoreFired, Not Hired
Healthy labor markets consist of many things including low rates of involuntary termination and high rates of hiring. Usually they’re highly correlated. Not now. First time unemployment insurance claims at 332,000/week are at levels last seen in 11/07 before the Great Recession. Yet total hires at 4.2 million in June are now where they were…
Read MoreWe’re #2!
The Friday File: Mexico, where 32.8% of the adult population is obese (BMI of 30 or higher), has edged out the US where 31.8% of the population is obese. The tragedy is that in Mexico, obesity is frequently associated with malnourishment. On the other end of the scale is Japan, where just 4.5% of adults…
Read MoreMileage Miscalculation
Automobile regulation that improves fuel efficiency raises the price of new cars. That in turn raises the price of used cars, as some buyers avoid higher new car costs by buying used ones. This unsurprisingly reduces the number of used cars that get scrapped. And since used cars have worse gas mileage than new ones,…
Read MoreFly Away
Despite allowing Delta to buy Northwest, United to buy Continental, and Southwest to buy AirTran, the Department of Justice has come down hard against the US Airways-American merger. Years ago the industry was hemorrhaging money and it was in everyone’s interest to have a stable and profitable airline industry. Now that it is, reduced competition…
Read MoreDeclining Deficit
As of 7/31/13, the FY2013 federal budget deficit was $607 billion, down from $973 billion on 7/31/12, and the full year FY13 deficit is projected to be $759 billion, down from $1.089 trillion last year. Revenues to date are up $278 billion, while outlays are down $88 billion. The deficit as a percent of GDP…
Read MoreHot Rod
The Friday File: Last month a virtually pristine 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R racing car sold for $29.6 million, shattering the previous record of $16.39 million for the most expensive car ever sold. The car was driven by the late Argentine racing great Juan Manuel Fangio, who won 45% of the races he entered and five world…
Read MoreSick Spending
Despite spending 18% of GDP on healthcare, or $9,356/person, Americans are falling behind other countries in overall health. In 1990, US life expectancy was 75.2, by 2010 it was 78.2, yet the US ranking fell from 20th to 27th. Worse, from 1990 through 2010, the average number of years Americans live with chronic disease rose…
Read MoreWalking Dead
In 1980, a record 8,070 pedestrians were killed crossing streets. By 2009, the number hit an all-time low of 4,109. Since then it has been rising, to 4,280 in 2010 and 4,432 in 2011. Pedestrians account for 14% of traffic fatalities, and 70% of all pedestrians killed are men. Florida has the highest rate of…
Read MoreTerrible Tactics
The GOP threat to close the government on 10/1 if the 2014 budget contains any funding for Obamacare is laughable. Obama will veto any bill that defunds his signature achievement and a veto override is impossible as it requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Moreover, dare I remind anyone, the most recent attempt to…
Read More