37% of all net new jobs created since the recovery began were created in TX. TX has added 265K net jobs. NY was 2nd with 98K, PA 93K. TX is also one of 4 states that has more jobs now than when the recession began; the others are ND, AK and DC. Over the last 20 years TX has grown 3.3% vs. 2.6% for the US. TX stands out for its free market and business friendly climate.
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Costly Crown Celebration
Economists, those killjoys, are busy adding up the cost of the UK royal wedding, and all associated matrimonial festivities. At one end an economist thinks it will knock 1.5% or $15 billion off UK GDP as that equals one day’s work. Another says it will cost just 0.2% or $2 billion or 1/5th of a day of work. One bozo estimates it at $50 billion but added 3 other holidays that occur yearly and that’s ecocheating!
Bin Laden Dead, Markets Shrug
The death of bin Laden is a non-event in the markets. Had there been a rally, the US dollar, precious metals and commodities should all have weakened and stocks should have rallied as investors moved from safe havens to riskier investments. But, everything is up! The dollar is slightly higher, stocks are up marginally and gold, platinum and palladium are also up slightly. No visible market trend is yet evident.
Courting Debt Ceiling Disaster
During the housing bust banks held mortgage debt they thought was safe. It wasn’t. In the crunch, they got scared and froze; so did the economy. If Cong fails to lift the debt ceiling the chain of events will be similar but worse as the assets will not be Frankenstein bonds made from mortgages but trillion $14.3 in US debt, the cornerstone of the global financial system. Absent that confidence the whole system collapses
Republicans Budgeting Badly
The Ryan G.O.P. Budget Proposal to abolish Medicare and replace it with vouchers to be used to buy private health insurance may be a great idea but privatizing Medicare does nothing to limit health-care costs. In fact, it almost surely raises them by adding a layer of private sector bureaucracy.Yet his plan assumes that we can cut health-care spending as a percentage of G.D.P. despite an aging population and rising health care costs.
ECB Wrongly Raises Rates
The ECB hiked its main interest rate to 1.25% from 1%, yet inflationary pressures and growth prospects are no different in Europe than in the US and UK and they are not raising. This decision marks the moment when differences in analysis and not divergent economic circumstances, affect policy decisions. This decision will hurt the fragile economic recovery and given the numerous event risks is not a wise idea.