The Bowtie Economist's Daily Dose of 70-Word Wisdom


SUPERB SUPPLY

05/08/2024

In another sign that inflation should soften, the NY Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index declined from -0.30 in March to -0.85 in April. It’s been below zero each of the last five months and 12 of the last 13…

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AUTOMOBILE ACTIVITY

05/07/2024

After peaking in CY2016 at 17.5 million, sales of cars and light trucks steadily slid and by CY2019 were 17 million. Between 2020-2022, sales were dismal and peaked in CY2021 at 15 million. While sales rose to 15.5 million units…

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APRIL ACTIVITY

05/06/2024

After four months of larger than expected monthly job growth, April employment grew 175,000, it’s fourth lowest gain since 1/21. This pushed the unemployment rate up to 3.9%, Y-o-Y wage growth down to 3.9%, and the workweek also softened. All…

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CONVERGING CICADAS

05/03/2024

The Fun Finale: Sometime in May, when the soil temperature eight inches deep reaches 65 degrees, trillions of cicadas will emerge, mate, lay eggs and then die, all in about five weeks. What makes this year special is that Brood…

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COSTLY CANCELLATION

05/02/2024

President Biden’s student debt cancellation plans will cost between $870 billion and $1.4 trillion. $620 billion has already been spent, and the latest plan will cost between $250-$750 billion more. That’s more than will be spent on universal pre-K and…

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EMPLOYMENT EVALUATION

05/01/2024

While the Y-o-Y change in the 24Q1 Employment Cost Index (measuring wages, salaries, and quickly-rising benefits), came in at 4.2%, and the Q-o-Q reading was an uncomfortably hot 1.2%, this does not necessarily portend high inflation. The 24Q1 productivity reading…

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TROUBLED TIKTOC

04/30/2024

If TikToc gets banned in the US, and that may take a while as the courts will be involved, the biggest winners are likely to be Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, and Alphabet’s YouTube and their respective video platforms Reels and…

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PROPERTY PERCENTAGES

04/29/2024

The total value of American property, excluding farmland, is $66 trillion. Of that, 25% is commercial, and of that office space is probably $4 trillion. Between 2007 and 2009, US residential real estate lost a third of its value, which…

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VALUABLE VAULTING

04/27/2024

The Friday File: On 4/20/24, Swedish pole vaulter Mario Duplantis broke his world record, clearing 6.24m, 20.47ft. The old record was 6.23m. Duplantis gets a check of up to $100,000 whenever he breaks the record. The great Ukrainian pole vaulter…

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MEAGER MOVING

04/25/2024

Based on a quarterly survey of active managerial job seekers, during calendar year 2020 5% of such individuals relocated to find new employment. In 2021, the percentage fell to 4%, in 2022, the percentage declined further to 3.75%, and in…

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