The Bowtie Economist's Daily Dose of 70-Word Wisdom

The Friday File: When given a choice, 34% of the public prefer a self-checkout kiosk, 56% prefer a live cashier, and 10% don’t care. Among those 18-44, 48% prefer self-checkout, 37% prefer a cashier, 15% don’t care. For 45–54-year-olds, 30%…

While existing home sales are very weak, home prices keep rising. The Case-Shiller National Index was up 5.1% Y-o-Y in November, up from 4.7% Y-o-Y in October. Similarly, the FHFA Index saw home prices rise 6.6% Y-o-Y in November, up…

While the Fed didn’t lower interest rates after today’s meeting, it suggested that cuts are on the way. However, by reiterating that he wants to see continued declines in inflationary pressures before the Fed cuts rates, Powell gave markets no…

At present, the Fed funds rate is 5.375% and the Fed’s preferred inflation measure is 2.6%, making the real Fed funds rate, Fed funds minus inflation, 2.775%. Dating back to 1954, the median real Fed funds rate has been 2.8%…

The amount of money in all passively managed (index) U.S. mutual funds and ETFs recently surpassed $13.3 trillion. That exceeds, for the first time, the amount in actively managed mutual funds and ETFs at $13.2 trillion. The amount in passively…

The Friday File: The most visited entertainment venue of any type or size for the CY2023 was London’s O2 arena with 2.4 million tickets sold, followed by Mexico City’s Foro Sol Stadium with 2 million tickets sold. In third, NYC’s…

The U.S. economy grew by an unexpectedly strong 3.3% in 23Q4, and growth for the year was 3.1%, well above expectations and the dismal 0.7% in 2022. Credit belongs to consumers who were unrelenting in their spending, charging, borrowing, and…

December existing housing sales slid to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.87 million, the lowest level since 8/10 and the end of the second round of ill-fated congressionally enacted first-time homebuyer incentives. Excluding that, 12/23 was the worst month…

For pre-Covid year ending 2/20, interest payments totaled $550 billion and the average interest rate on all outstanding U.S. Treasuries was 2.4%. Interest payments and the average interest rate paid both bottomed out for the year ending 1/22 at $320…

Recent data show boosting capital investment in public schools raises student test scores and nearby home prices. Conversely, investment in basic school infrastructure such as HVAC or the removal of pollutants to improve student health/safety boosts test scores but not…