Month: December 2024

While existing inflationary pressures should weaken further, it’s proposed policies that may reawaken it. Higher tariffs will, even if only temporarily, raise prices. Similarly, tax cuts are likely to boost inflation as consumer spending and corporate investment increase, unless there…

Boomers define financial success as a salary of $100,000/year and net worth of $1 million. For Gen X, the numbers are $212,000/year and $5.3 million, while for Millennials they are $181,000/year and $5.6 million. However, for Gen Z, income is…

While wage growth declined from 5.9%/year during 5/22 to 3.6%/year in 7/24, it’s since risen to 4%/year. While growth this high isn’t generally conducive to 2% inflation, a doubling of productivity growth to 2% makes it possible. The rise is…

While many equity investors try to time market tops and bottoms to improve returns, their results have only gotten worse since Covid. Between 1/1/2015 and 12/31/2019, market timing attempts across a variety of actively traded mutual-fund styles cost investors 0.53…

November employment growth was a hearty 227,000, and there were upward revisions totaling 56,000 to September and October. The good November result confirms the weak October result was due to hurricanes and the Boeing strike. However, the unemployment rate rose…

The Friday File: U.S. theaters just had their highest grossing Thanksgiving (five-day) weekend ever, accruing over $400 million, largely driven by “Moana 2,” “Wicked,” and “Gladiator II.” Over the holiday about 30 million people saw those movies. Moreover just 25…

Almost half of U.S. government student lending goes to postgraduates even though they are 17% of all students. Moreover, since 2000 the inflation-adjusted cost of graduate studies has tripled, and the average debt load has risen by 50% to $50,000…

61% of the price of a new home is construction, including labor. Of the 61%, 56% (or 34% of the total price) is wages/salaries and 44% (or 27% of the price) is material. 7.3% of materials (or 2% of the…

While it’s still very early and the existing housing market is profoundly weak, preliminary evidence shows real estate agent commissions declining since new rules went into effect in mid-August following a landmark legal settlement. From mid-August through early October, average…