Archive for April 2017

Yesterday’s March housing data were good. While starts were down 6.8% compared to February’s outstanding weather-induced number, starts were up 9.2% compared to March 2016. Moreover, starts are up 8.1% year-to-date and were up about 8% each month this year compared to last. Single-family starts are up almost 6% YTD; multifamily starts, a surprisingly strong…

Inflation-adjusted retail sales slumped in March and were no higher at the end of 17Q1 than they were on 12/31/16; their worst performance since mid-2012. Moreover, inflation as measured by the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, slumped for the second straight month, and suggests retailers are unable to raise prices due weak consumer…

The Friday File: Excluding one-off and jewel-encrusted women’s footwear, the fourth most expensive off-the-rack women’s shoe is the Sexy Strass from Christian Louboutin, which retails for $3,095. Third most expensive is the 2011 Icons collection from Jimmy Choo at $3,785. Number two is the Vienna Minimalisa High Boots from Louis Vuitton at $4,500. The most…

While French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen looks very unlikely to win the French presidency, the rising popularity of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is trouble. In the past month, he’s risen from fifth to third in polling for the first round of voting on 4/23. The top two vote-getters have a run-off 5/7. In…

Throughout the 1950s, household wealth was roughly 3.7 times GDP. From 1960 through 1979 it steadily fell, bottoming at 3.2 times GDP. Since then, it’s steadily risen except during the 2001 recession and the Great Recession, when it declined. During the dotcom boom, prior to the 2001 recession, household wealth hit 4.3; during the housing…

There are currently 64 occupations where the average wage exceeds $100,000/year. Within these occupations, nine enjoy average wages that exceed $200,000/year, all of which are in healthcare, and led by anesthesiologists at $269,600. The only two occupations in the top 15 not in healthcare; CEOs at $194,350/year and pilots/copilots at $152,770. 70% of these high-paying…

Despite March nonfarm payrolls rising just 98,000, probably due to the nor’easter, the labor market is tightening! The unemployment rate hit 4.5%, its lowest level since 4/07 and the broadest measure of unemployment declined to 8.9%, its lowest reading since 12/07. Moreover, the labor force participation rate held steady and the employment-to-population ratio rose for…

The Friday File: At $33,000,000/year Clayton Kershaw is the top paid baseball player, followed closely by fellow pitchers Zack Greinke at $31,876,966/year and David Price at $30,000,000/year. The LA Dodgers have the highest payroll at $188 million, followed by the Detroit Tigers at $180 million. The Milwaukee Brewers have the second lowest at $61 million…

While giving poor Ecuadoreans free shoes made the recipients happier and did not harm the existing shoe retail industry, it did nothing else. It didn’t decrease shoelessness or increase shoe ownership, since older shoes were tossed, nor did it boost general health, foot health or self-esteem. It did, however, boost by 13 percentage points the…