Posts Tagged ‘Elliot eisenberg’
Bye Bye Bankruptcy
In a sign of reduced economic stress among households and firms, total US bankruptcy filings are down. They fell from 104,537 last February to 82,285 this February, a fall of 21%. Consumer filings declined from 99,378 to 78,611 while commercial filings declined from 5,159 to 3,674. Personal bankruptcy filings peaked in 2010 at 1.54 million,…
Read MoreTough Tax
While imposing a financial transaction tax (FTT) on purchases of stocks, bonds, options and derivatives will reduce trading and may raise revenue — if traders don’t move their business elsewhere which is usually the case — it also increases volatility, exactly the opposite of what is intended. Turns out, where FTTs have been imposed, they…
Read MorePapal Probabilities
The Friday File: With a papal conclave fast approaching, Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana is the leading contender with odds of 11-4 that he leaves the conclave as pope. Next is Archbishop Angelo Scola of Italy at 3-1 and Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada at 6-1. The problem Turkson faces is that less than 10%…
Read MoreConstruction Employment
Despite a boom in residential construction activity, construction employment growth has remained lackluster and is up just 100,000 from the trough in early 2011. This is because residential building declined by more than residential employment resulting in value added/worker falling from about $80,000/year to about $60,000/year as employers kept their best workers. But with total…
Read MoreBuilding Stock
In another sign of good news for home building, TRI Pointe Homes’ IPO was the sector’s first since 2004. The firm raised $233 million selling 13.7 shares at $17 on 1/31/13. Today’s close, $18.45. And, it looks like Taylor Morrison will soon follow as it’s currently filing papers with the SEC in a deal worth…
Read MoreSequester Symptoms
Despite sequestration calling for $110 billion in annual cuts, the full impact will not be felt until after 2015. Outlays will be reduced by $44 billion in FY 2013, by $89 billion in 2014, and $102 billion in 2015. Full year 2013 GDP will fall by about 0.7%, with q2 GDP falling by about 1.25%!…
Read MoreTicket to Ride
Despite having 26% of the US Market, the American Airlines-US Airways merger will proceed. That said, it will mean higher fares between smaller cities, reduced service on unprofitable routes and possibly fewer hubs. The key to minimizing harm to consumers is eliminating overwhelming airline dominance at airports. Hello passengers in Cincinnati, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, Minneapolis…
Read MoreHappy Valentine’s Day
Americans will spend $19 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts — $60/person. 56% will be spent on a romantic partner, 20% on family, 7% on friends, 5% on teachers and 4% each on; co-workers, others, and pets! That’s $750 million on Fido, a tad less than the $860 million spent on greeting cards. Guys will spend…
Read MoreCost-Benefit Analysis
Higher 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 income from rich to poor (which will hopefully result in better trained workers, improved high-school…
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