Tag Archives: U.S. Gross Domestic Product

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today that sales of existing homes (resales) were up slightly in September 2017 on a monthly basis. At a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million last month, that was practically unchanged from the 5.35 million estimate for August that was the lowest in a year. On an annual basis, resales in September were 1.5% less than those in September 2016. It was the first...

I predict the current investigations will widen and take a variety of twists and turns that surprise all those anticipating a tidy, narrowly focused denouement. The theme this week is The Rot Within. To those of us who understand the entire status quo is rotten and corrupt to its core, the confidence of each ideological camp that their side will emerge unscathed by investigation is a source of amusement. The...

We tend to measure what’s easily measured (and supports the status quo) and ignore what isn’t easily measured (and calls the status quo into question). If we use gross domestic product (GDP) as a broad measure of prosperity, we are 160% better off than we were in 1980 and 35% better off than we were in 2000. Other common metrics such as per capita (per person) income and total household wealth reflect similarly hefty...

The True Believer How is it that seemingly intelligent people, of apparent sound mind and rational thought, can stray so far off the beam?  How come there are certain professions that reward their practitioners for their failures? The central banking and monetary policy vocation rings the bell on both accounts.  Today we offer a brief case study in this regard. Photo credit: Linda Davidson / The Washington Post -...

Bleeding the Patient to Health There’s something alluring about cure-alls and quick fixes. Who doesn’t want a magic panacea to make every illness or discomfort disappear? Such a yearning once compelled the best and the brightest minds to believe the impossible for over two thousand years. Instantaneous relief! No matter what your affliction is, snake oil cures them all. - Click to enlarge For example, from antiquity...

The point is the present system cannot endure. Despite all the happy talk about “recovery” and higher growth, wages have gone nowhere since 2000–and for the bottom 20% of workers, they’ve gone nowhere since the 1970s. Diverging Income Trajectories 1947 - 2014 - Click to enlarge Gross domestic product (GDP) has risen smartly since 2000, but the share of GDP going to wages and salaries has plummeted: this is simply...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.09% to 1.1427 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 30(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar recovery that began in North American yesterday continued to in Asia and Europe. The geopolitical anxiety sparked by North Korea’s missile over Japan subsided. The US response was seen as measured and tempered. North Korea...

If we stop counting zombies, we’re already in recession. How shocked would you be if it was announced that the U.S. had just entered a recession, that is, a period in which gross domestic product (GDP) declines (when adjusted for inflation) for two or more quarters? Would you really be surprised to discover that the eight-year long “recovery,” the weakest on record, had finally rolled over into recession? Anyone with...

Swiss Franc The franc is off another 0.5% today, to bring its weekly loss to a sharp 2.5%. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 28(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar is mostly lower, though one of the features of recent days has been the dramatic slide of the Swiss franc, and that is continuing today. The euro finished last week near CHF1.1030 and is now...

EUR/CHF The SNB is intervening for 3 bn. CHF per week, this is far too much at these elevated Euro and Dollar levels. With two times positive economic data (here and here) about good news on internal demand, she might be finally be ready to let the euro fall. EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, March 30(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF The Pound to Swiss Franc exchange rate has opened up flat...