Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Here’s a follow-up graph to the one in the post below, this one is through 2007-Q3 for “foreclosures started,” from the Mortgage Bankers Association(MBA). What is pretty obvious is that subprime mortgages in general are not the problem, but subprime ARMs that are the real problem. Subprime fixed foreclosures in 2007-Q3 were […]

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Submitted by unsettling economics
Part of what interested me in the article was the time requirement to find the best price. Economists tell us that prices are supposed to be signals indicating how utility can be produced with the least opportunity costs. In this sense, exploring alternative prices can be seen as a productive […]

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Submitted by Econbrowser
As the Fed drops interest rates, I’ve been trying to sort out all the channels that monetary policy will affect output, and which ones are likely to be short circuited this time around.
Paul Krugman observes that changing interest rates might not work on housing when the stock of housing is out of line […]

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Submitted by Businomics Blog
A business manager with 25 years of experience today has worked through two recessions.
Compare that to a generation ago: in 1983, a manager with 25 years of experience would have worked through FIVE recessions.
Whether the current economy is going into recession, or merely a “recessionette,” your senior company’s management team needs […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Interesting chart above from Freddie Mac, showing foreclosures through the middle of 2007. Note that delinquency rates for FHA and VA loans were declining in 2007 and flat for prime conventional mortgages, so the delinquency problems (at least through the middle of 2007) were affecting only the subprime mortgage sector. It will […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) — Germany’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in 15 years in January. The jobless rate, adjusted for seasonal swings, dropped to 8.1%, the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said today.
Comment: We haven’t had an unemployment rate in the U.S. above 8% in almost a quarter century, […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Forbes Magazine introduces the Forbes Misery Measure, based on a city’s unemployment rate, personal tax rate, commute time, weather, crime, and toxic waste proximity. The top ten “most miserable” cities, according to Forbes:
1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. Flint, MI
4. New York City
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Modesto, CA
9. Charlotte, […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide GDP, equalised in purchasing power parity, found there in the Year 1 A.D.

Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide GDP, adjusted for local purchasing power, found there in the Year 2002.

From WorldMapper.
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Submitted by The Capital Spectator
It’s too soon to say if the bond market will stay on board with the Fed’s new world order. From 10 miles up, however, all looks fine, as our chart below suggests. Rates and spreads have both dropped considerably, delivering an upward sloping yield curve along the way. Mr. Bernanke’s big […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

From today’s BEA report“Real Disposable Personal Income increased 3.1% in 2007, the same increase as in 2006 (see chart above).”
In fact, there has only been one year since 2001, when real disposable personal income has grown at a higher annual rate than 2007 - the 3.6% rate in 2004.
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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Territory size shows the proportion of all cars in the world that are found there.

Territory size shows the proportion of all the motorbikes and mopeds in the world found there.

From WorldMapper.
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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide polio cases that were recorded there between 2000 and 2005.

Territories are sized in proportion to the absolute number of people who died from HIV/AIDS.

From WorldMapper.
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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Distribution of World Population of the World: Year 1

Distribution of the World Population of the World: 2008

From WorldMapper
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Submitted by A Dash of Insight
Today’s trading provided a rare opportunity — a look into the future. The Fed action, as we expected, showed determination to fight recession prospects in an aggressive fashion. The FOMC is attentive both to the current economy and to financial disruptions that could spiral into negative economic effects.
While many traders […]

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Submitted by Econbrowser
Today the Federal Reserve announced a further 50-basis-point cut in its target for the fed funds interest rate, bringing it down to 3.0% for a total reduction in January of 125 basis points. How long should it take before this has an effect on the economy?
In a recent research paper (quick summaries here […]

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