Submitted by CARPE DIEM
A Packer fan was enjoying himself at the game in a packed Lambeau Field, until he noticed an empty seat down in front. He went down and asked the guy next to it if he knew whose seat it was. The guy said, “Yes, that’s my wife’s seat. We haven’t missed a […]

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Submitted by unsettling economics
A little more than a year ago, in response to a Wall Street Journal article on airline travelers’ lost luggage, an insightful reader offered a more in depth analysis:
“Airlines lose luggage because there is no incentive to correct the problem. It would cost money to fix the broken systems, and there […]

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Submitted by EconWeekly
As goats on a tree, reaching for the best leaves, we all strive to be the ones at the top. But even in America, the land of opportunity, only good climbers make it. And lately even the fittest seem to be having a hard time.
The table below shows the percentage of […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

From Time Magazine, December 2, 1957 issue:
The uneasy sign in the nation’s economic picture is not the statistical droop but the mood. If too many consumers postpone purchases out of worry, shrinkage in sales may bring on a real recession. “Psychology,” says Vice President Dr. Arthur A. Smith of Dallas’ First […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
“High Gas Prices Truly Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil,” Wired Magazine 2008
“Why $5 Gas is Good for America,” Wired Magazine 2005, here’s an excerpt:
Rising oil prices are more than just an irritant or even an ominous nick out of the GDP. For anyone with a fresh idea, expensive oil is as good […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
From today’s Washington Post: The NBER’s pronouncements historically come long after recessions have begun, a whopping seven months on average. By the time the bureau announced the recession of 1991, it had already ended.
It’s true. On April 25, 1991, the NBER announced that a recession started in July of 1990. It […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

From an Anonymous comment on CD:
“Isn’t it better that the world economy is becoming less dependent on the U.S.? Isn’t a multi-polar world more economically resilient than a uni-polar world? Other countries that have been helped by the U.S. in the past are now able to help the U.S. through their […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
An interesting Bloomberg exclusive “GM, Ford Count on India, China to Offset U.S. Slump” supports the suggestion in the post below that today’s global economy helps support the U.S. economy in ways that are fundamentally different than in the past. Consider these excerpts from the article:
1. General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner says […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Equaterra, one of the leading outsourcing advisory firms, just released its latest quarterly report on worldwide outsourcing activity, based on a survey of its advisors. From its press release:
“Despite fear of a recession in the U.S., jitters on virtually all major stock exchanges worldwide and widespread cut-backs in corporate spending, EquaTerra’s 4Q2007 […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

The chart above (click to enlarge) shows the series “Commercial and Industrial Loans of Weekly Reporting Large Commercial Banks” from 1988-2008, available from the Federal Reserve via FRED. A couple key points:
1. As of the first week of January, commercial bank loans are at a record high of $760 billion.
2. It was […]

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