Contrary to Popular Wisdom?
One way of measuring inflation is to gauge how prices for an assortment of goods and services have varied over time. Another approach involves looking at changes in how much things cost relative to what the average worker earns (the...
Not Flush
If these charts are any guide, it looks like Americans relied on what little cash they had left -- or didn't really have -- to buy what they wanted (needed?) in the run-up to the holidays. Not exactly flush, are...
Empty Plastic
While economists and the mainstream media tried hard to get everyone excited by today's "better-than-expected" employment report (which included an unusually large and likely-to-be-reversed spike in hiring in the "Couriers & Messengers" category), they failed to mention one thing: even...
Taking Note
Among those I thanked in my last post of 2011 were the individuals who were kind enough to send traffic my way. In light of the support they have given me, I thought it only reasonable to try and return...
The Old ‘We’ll Make It Up on Volume" Fail?
Back when many Wall Street "strategists," economists, retail industry trade groups, and others who claim to know what they are talking about were predicting a strong holiday selling season (and the long-awaited return of the free-spending U.S. consumer), I warned...
The Experts Opine
It's that time again -- the time when Wall Street's highly paid "experts" tell us what to expect in the year ahead (via Bloomberg): Forecasters at securities firms are...predicting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rise 6.4 percent in...
Betting on Nothing
Investors's unrelenting faith in the return of the consumer has helped to sustain a nearly three-year rally in the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector, which is now just 5 percent below last April's record highs. And yet, as the following...
Thanks, Again
Five years and 7.3 million pageviews after I published the first of more than 2,000 posts at Financial Armageddon, "'The Stability of the World Financial System May Be More Apparent than Real'" (what an understatement!), I just wanted to thank...
Buzzing Again
In "Too Much Kool-Aid in the Eggnog," I wrote: "as is typical this time of year, optimism is on the upswing, and many commentators have convinced themselves that the next 12 months will be better than the last." I then...
Too Much Kool-Aid in the Eggnog
As is typical this time of year, optimism is on the upswing, and many commentators have convinced themselves that the next 12 months will be better than the last. However, reports from the economy's front lines suggest otherwise. For one...
Big and Bigger
It's that time again... "Obama to Ask for Debt Limit Hike: Treasury Official" (Reuters) The White House plans to ask Congress by the end of the week for an increase in the government's debt ceiling to allow the United States...
