Non-financial companies in the S&P500 are now holding more money than ever, some $1.1 trillion in cash. This comes after some of the heftiest bond issuance ever in 3Q 2010. Read more…
It’s here. While the Federal Reserve looks to start a second round of quantitative easing, other central bankers are looking for ways to lower the value of their currency and increase exports. Of course, if everyone devalues their currency, no one wins. Read more…
So there’s a lot of talk about unemployment and the raw numbers. But while the unemployment numbers appear to be just simple tallies of who is employed and who isn’t, there’s a lot more that goes behind making the number. Here’s an easy explanation on how these numbers are calculated, and why it matters. Read more…
Republicans are beginning to sound a lot like Reagan in that they’re starting to sound a lot like Art Laffer. Reaganomics, a term that is ingrained in virtually every 30-something person in the United States, still creates quite an argument. On one end, democrats see the rich as a perfect target for tax hikes. Republicans, in the other corner, say raising taxes on the rich will hurt the economy. They’re both right, in a way. Read more…
Consumer debt on credit cards is in freefall, plunging to levels we haven’t seen in more than eight years. There’s no news better than this news. Read more…
Many say that a college degree is an investment. You invest your time, energy, and perhaps most notably, your money, to obtain a virtual certification for any job you please. And that may be very well true. But the fact of the matter is that you have to make sure that you’re getting the best bang for your buck. Read more…
Big businesses love economic recession. Recessions allow big business to borrow cheaper, price out smaller businesses, and use the power of government through regulations to squash upcoming competitors. Read more…
After a dismal start to an “economic recovery,” rumors are swirling that the Federal Reserve will relaunch its quantitative easing programs to up the Fed’s balance sheet as much as $2.5 trillion. Previously, according to insiders at the Fed, Bernanke had the ability to expand the balance sheet to as large as $5 trillion. Read more…
I’ve been on a roll lately with economics posts (see Time Preference) so I thought I might as well follow up with another on capital structure. Read more…
Though the economy may add hundreds of thousands of jobs in the next few months, expect the unemployment rate, as a percentage, to rise, not fall. Thanks to the methods used to calculated the number of unemployed Americans, the unemployment rate will rise as job seekers return to the job market. Read more…
Irony alert! The Federal Reserve, which has long been the source of most bubbles, is going to complete its own internal investigation as to why speculative bubbles form. Unfortunately, the early answer from the FED is that regulations can end bubbles. They couldn’t be more incorrect. Read more…
While Congress looks ready to act on health care reform, another bill of near equal magnitude is making its rounds through the Congress. Financial reform could ruin health care reform, though, if government force crushes the derivatives market. Read more…
Looking into the prospects of 2010 we have to begin understanding exactly how much influence governments and central banks had in 2009. Of the most importance to American investors should be the Federal Reserve, which invested a full $1.5 Trillion in mortgage backed securities and Treasuries. Read more…
Consumers are still pushing the panic button on the amount of debt they’re willing to take on, a sure sign that the economy has yet to recover. At an annual rate of 8.5%, it is now evident that debt is the new pandemic to be shed, however it creates some huge microeconomic consequences. Read more…
Last year I wrote about an interesting correlation between the strength of movie attendance and the economy. In 2008, movie attendance was slumping-off more than 7% from 2007. However, as 2009 comes to a close, movie attendance indicate that we as a collective are feeling much better about the economic future. Read more…
After November’s employment report, gold dove nearly 5% on better than expected employment numbers. With only 11,000 jobs lost and the unemployment rate dipping from 10.2% to 10%, investors figured that an improving economy would force the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates, fighting off inflation. Read more…
The Great Recession has had such an impact on people’s lives that since 2007 the American savings rate has now doubled, and some analysts predict that they could nearly triple again, setting the stage for a full blown capital-fueled recovery. Read more…
The first central bank has given its own stamp of approval to the current economic environment. The Reserve Bank of Australia upped its overnight rate 25 basis points to 3.25%. Though its a small step, it certainly demonstrates RBS’s view of the world economy. Read more…
In what might be the best taxpayer investment in history a congressional commission will seek to find answers regarding the 2008 financial collapse. The 10 person commission will examine the financial crisis to see what we as a country might be able to learn. I’m hoping it turns out to be a valuable lesson. Read more…
Hot dogs, hamburgers, and apple pie. Oh its great to be a working American on Labor Day. Unless of course, you’re under 19 with a 25.7% chance of being unemployed. Read more…
Its July 20 and there are just a few days until your Chase minimum payment skyrockets 250%. After calling the customer service representatives you realize they’re not going to do anything about it, and you’re going broke quickly. But there is one phone number you haven’t tried, because if you had, you’d actually get approved for a lower rate! Read more…
The Federal Reserve began its quantitative easing scheme just a few months ago, but today nearly all of its allocated reserves have been spent. The goal is to weigh down interest rates to get the economy moving, and while interest rates have fallen, the economy continues to grind to a standstill. Read more…
In macroeconomics, no global meetings are as powerful as G8 summits. The eight largest economic countries come together to decide economic policy, both for themselves and the world. Usually the G8 meetings come and go, with very little of anything other than pictures coming out of the world-wide talks. Read more…
The new climate change bill threatens virtually every business, consumer and citizen with higher prices for virtually every product. The new legislation could send energy prices skyrocketing and big business out of the United States. To put it simply, the new climate change bill is a tax on productivity, one we don’t need considering the current state of affairs in the US economy. Read more…
First time home buyers are out in force. Once recent study concluded that 20% of all home shoppers were motivated by the credit, adding a significant number of people to a near deserted real estate market. But all may not be well, the home buyer tax credit has long withstanding implications on the future of the US economy. Read more…
