Category Archives: Business & Economy
Fed Nominee Judy Shelton Wants Sound Money—and Lots of It
There is good news and bad news regarding President Trump’s nomination of Judy Shelton for one of the two vacant positions on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
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Why Bad GDP Metrics Lead to Bad Policy
The laser-like focus on consumer spending as the driver of economic health is largely the result of the government’s premiere measure of the economy: the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Significant flaws in how GDP is measured, however, not only make it a misleading indicator, but have led to erroneous conclusions about what makes the economy tick. Such errors lead to extremely costly and damaging public policies.
Read moreTexas Instruments To Close Two Dallas-Area Chip Factories Amid Slowdown
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Texas Instruments announced Wednesday that it would close two chip plants in North Texas over the next three to five years, reported Dallas News.
Read moreBorden Dairy Company Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Borden Dairy Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday amid rising milk prices and what court filings described as an “unsustainable” debt pile, reported Bloomberg.
Read moreAverage US Family Can’t Afford A Home In 71% Of The Country
More Americans are getting priced out of purchasing homes than ever, as soaring prices continue to outpace wages, according to a new report.
Read moreMajor Freight Carrier Bankrupted, Leaving 3,000 Truckers Jobless, Many Stranded On Highways
Celadon, the largest U.S. truckload carrier, filed for bankruptcy Monday morning, leaving 3,000 truck drivers and 500 administrative positions without a job two weeks before Christmas.
Read more63% Of All U.S. Jobs Created Since 1990 Have Been Low-Wage Jobs
Since 1990, the U.S. economy has produced millions of jobs, but nearly two-thirds of them have been low wage jobs. Of course this is one of the biggest factors causing the systematic erosion of the American middle class. Today, half of all U.S. workers make less than $33,000 a year, but meanwhile the cost of living has been steadily increasing.
Read moreThe Cost of Government Is Rising Much Faster than Housing and Healthcare
This year, as it has for several consecutive years now, the Tax Foundation reported that “Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2019 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined.”
Read moreNearly Half Of US Consumers Report Their Incomes Don’t Cover Their Expenses
Low-income consumers are struggling to make ends meet and if a recession strikes or the employment cycle continues to decelerate — this could mean the average American with insurmountable debts will likely fall behind on their debt servicing payments. A recent report that showed that 44% of consumers don’t make enough money to cover their expenses.
Read moreHere Is The Secret Cost Behind All Those “Free” Credit Card Perks
Despite the fact that the Fed insists on keeping interest rates low, many credit cards are actually raising rates for consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The increase is to make up for the generous rewards – perks like cash back and travel – that credit cards are offering to lure in customers.
Read more“Too Much Too Fast” Gas Glut Crushes Shale Drillers
Appalachian shale drillers are getting squeezed by low prices, and a supply glut may mean that there is little prospect of a pricing rebound anytime soon.
Read moreHow Useful is the “Unemployment Rate”? Five Humans Who Don’t “Count” [VIDEO]
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The unemployment rate is just 3.7 percent. Does that mean that 96 percent of Americans are going to work this morning? Not even close. BLS data are fallible measures that diagnose only part of our nation’s job market health.
Read moreSub-Prime Auto Credit Deteriorates In July, Says Report
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) published its Auto Loan Indices for July and reported deteriorating credit conditions for non-prime auto and prime loan pools. In July, losses climbed on both MoM and YoY basis. Annualized net losses rose 67bps MoM and 25bp YoY to 7.30%, while the percentage of borrowers that were two months late increased to 4.41%
Read moreIf Deficits Are This Huge Now, What Happens When the Recession Hits?
The Treasury Department released new budget deficit numbers, and with two months still to go in the fiscal year, 2019’s budget deficit is the highest its been since the US was still being flooded with fiscal stimulus dollars back in 2012.
Read moreStudent Debt Crushes Home-buying Dreams For Millennials , Now Delayed 8 Years
The life-altering impacts of student loan debt on millions of millennials is debilitating towards their financial health. At least 60% of millennials have no savings, and their poor financial health has contributed to the reason why so many young adults can’t afford a down-payment on their first home. About 40% of millennials have student debt, according to the AARP, and Clever Real Estate says the student debt has delayed home buying by eight years for millennials.
Read moreUS Treasury Now Expects To Borrow Over $800 Billion In Debt In Two Quarters
The Treasury is expected to hold its quarterly note and bond sales at record levels for the third straight time as Washington’s latest budget deal shows that the U.S.’s debt binge will continue.
Read moreSubprime 2.0: Mortgages Now Available For Borrowers Without Credit Scores [VIDEO]
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Proving that absolutely nothing has been learned from the 2008 housing crisis, a national lender has begun making mortgage loans available for borrowers without credit scores.
Read moreGlobal Debt Hits $246 Trillion, 320% Of GDP, As Developing Debt Hits All Time High
According to the latest IIF Global Debt Monitor released today, debt around the globe hit $246 trillion in Q1 2019, rising by $3 trillion in the quarter, and outpacing the rate of growth of the global economy as total debt/GDP rose to 320%.
Read moreAmerica’s Record-Long “Expansion” Was Just The Rich Getting Richer As The Middle Class Died
The longest US economic expansion in history is now a fact. Sadly, when peeling back the layers of the onion, the reality is far less euphoric. This historic expansion – mostly of asset prices – achieved just one thing: it made the rich richer while crushing the middle class,
Read moreUS Retailers With $1.5 Trillion In Sales Demand An Antitrust Probe Of Amazon And Google
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), whose members include Best Buy, Walmart and Target, demands an investigation whether Silicon Valley’s most prominent companies [Amazon and Google] are manipulating search results that disadvantage traditional retailers.
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