Economics
Americans Are Saving More. Are You?
Monday, June 29th, 2009The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that the personal saving rate was 6.9% in May, which is the highest it’s been since 1993.
One would think this is a good thing. But, in a consumer-driven economy such as ours, saving money is a bad thing—at least in the short run because savings represents money [...]
Foreign Demand for U.S. Financial Assets Decreased in April
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009From Yahoo Finance:
Foreign demand for long-term U.S. financial assets fell in April as both China and Japan trimmed their holdings of Treasury securities.
The Treasury Department said Monday that net purchases of stocks, notes and bonds obtained by foreigners fell to $11.2 billion in April, from $55.4 billion in March.
China, the largest holder of U.S. Treasury [...]
Check Out the Kiplinger Recovery Index
Friday, June 12th, 2009I received an email from a PR person for Kiplinger’s yesterday introducing the Kiplinger Recovery Index:
Identifying a turn in the economy is tricky business, especially when each day’s news seems to bring conflicting information. To cut through the noise, Kiplinger.com has developed the Kiplinger Recovery Index, which identifies 6 key economic indicators (shown in the [...]
Can We Have a Recovery When People Have So Much Debt?
Thursday, June 11th, 2009I don’t know about you but I get nervous when I hear all the talk about hopes for a consumer-led recovery. Why? Because consumers are already maxed out:
By the end of 2008, households were on the hook for $13.8 trillion in debt — nearly matching the $14.3 trillion output of the entire U.S. [...]
What’s the Deal with Deflation?
Thursday, December 4th, 2008I’ve been reading more and more about the threat of deflation. What’s deflation? I can’t find a better definition for it than what’s in the Barron’s Finance and Investment Handbook*:
DEFLATION decline in the prices of goods and services. Deflation is the reverse of inflation; it should not be confused with disinflation, which [...]
Economic Progress and the Role of Government - Interesting Thoughts
Thursday, November 20th, 2008The other night I could sleep so I got up, looked through my books, picked up Common Sense Economics*, and started reading.
Page 77 of the book contains a list titled Ten Elements of Clear Thinking About Economic Progress and the Role of Government:
1. Government promotes economic progress by protecting the rights of individuals and [...]
John Steel Gordon: A Short Banking History of the United States
Friday, October 10th, 2008Here’s an interesting read from this morning’s Wall Street Journal: A Short Banking History of the United States (free).
Some interesting quotes from the Gordon piece:
The reorganization of the Federal Reserve and the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation hugely reduced the number of bank failures and mostly ended bank runs. But there remained thousands [...]
An Interesting Question: What if EVERYONE Was Financially Savvy?
Monday, August 25th, 2008From Liz Pulliam Weston:
We personal-finance types constantly nag readers about spending too much and saving too little.
But what would happen if everybody suddenly took our advice? What if every household in America:
• Paid off credit cards in full every month and carried no high-rate debt?
• Had an emergency fund equal to at least three months’ [...]
More Krugman Hogwash!
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008This recent editorial by Paul Krugman bugs me. According to Krugman everything was hunky dory under Clinton and everything bad was caused by either President Bush or is tied somehow to the Republicans (or right-leaning Democrats). Here’s proof that Krugman is an idiot (emphasis mine):
If Bill Clinton’s attempt to reform health care had [...]
A Look at the U.S. Dollar
Monday, July 7th, 2008Take a look at the chart of the five-year history of the U.S. Dollar’s relationship with the Euro:
Back in August 2003, one U.S. Dollar purchased .9184 Euros. As of last Thursday, one U.S. Dollar only purchased .637 Euros, a decline of 30.64%! To put it in perspective, imagine you are going to [...]