The most significant and measurable failure of the economic stimulus package, the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is its inability to quickly create jobs. The $787 billion set of programs, which…
Like the Texas Hold’em player who pushes every last dime into the center of a poker table, the federal government is now “all in” with its commitment to push the national debt to 50%…
This morning came the Q1-2009 revision to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product from the Commerce Department, and the recession is still going. The original figure of -6.1% GDP was revised to a lower -5.7%. …
It is un-American to pay workers a pauper’s wage, and it is un-American to mandate that a company must pay an employee more than his work is worth. The debate about the minimum wage…
The National Association of Business Economists has just released its prediction for the direction that the economy will take between now and the end of the year. The survey polled 45 well-known experts. Nearly…
Economists and stock holders were overjoyed by numbers from The Conference Board showing that its confidence index rose to 54.9 in May from 40.8 in April. The fact that the number is still very low did…
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index just saw a sharp increase in May, and the quote will say it all. This follows a strong April as well. The May data showed a reading of…
Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer of Pimco, says that 8% unemployment is “the new normal.” He bases that, to a large extent, on the fact the GDP growth will only be 2% over the…
Almost every analyst or forecasting group of any substance has offered opinions over the last few weeks, regarding the performance of the economy for the last half of this year. Paul Krugman, Alan Greenspan,…
Shortly after S&P put the sovereign debt of the United Kingdom on credit watch, downgrading its outlook from “stable” to “negative”, Treasury Secretary Geithner said the Administration was committed to keeping America from facing…
No one in the US worried much when S&P downgraded the sovereign debt of The Ukraine or the Republic of Kazakhstan. Now, the trouble has moved much closer to home as the credit agency lowered…
We have just gotten the minutes from the FOMC meeting that ended on April 29. 2009. What we were looking for were comments regarding a potential exit strategy for near-zero rates on Fed Funds…
This weekend was the peak of the college graduation season. Colleges invite well-known people to travel all over America to give a 15 minute commencement address in exchange for an honorary doctorate. It is…
The Labor Department has just released its inflation data via Consumer Price Index readings, and it seems that inflation is still remaining tame. The headline and nominal CPI came in flat at 0.0% and…
The Wall Street Journal regularly polls 52 prominent economists and asks them their forecasts for key indicators including GDP and unemployment. The results of the most recent poll were encouraging. The average of all…