We have an odd juxtaposition to consider today. The mortgage rate on conforming 30- year mortgages is around 5%, according to Bankrate.com. Meanwhile, at the sale of Greek seven-year notes yesterday the yield was set at 5.9%. I should note, too, that even at 5.9% (the coupon rate), investors were not rushing to buy. So [...]
For the past three years, New York City has been paying members of some 2,400 poor families to do things like get dental check-ups, open savings accounts, hold down jobs, show up for school and carry health insurance. The cash incentives—typically ranging from $20 to $150 per desired behavior—are meant to get people with complicated, [...]
“How did you like it?” Bob Lutz asks me. It, in this case, is Chevrolet’s Volt, the electric –drive vehicle that the company is introducing this year. And this is a loaded question, since Lutz is GM’s soon-to-retire vice chairman, a Detroit design deity who put style back into GM’s line, and the ultimate car [...]
Once again, the federal home-buyer tax credit meant to spur demand in the housing market is coming to an end. To claim the credit—worth up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for folks who already own a home—you’ve got to be in contract by April 30 and close by the end of June. Much [...]
“The New Frugality,” declared the cover of Time magazine on April 27, 2009. Just kidding!
Many people reading this post probably know little about the Chinese carmaker Geely. Perhaps you’ve never heard of the company at all. That’s not surprising, since it has almost zero presence in major car markets (outside of China). But that changed instantly on Sunday when Geely finalized its purchase of Volvo from Ford for $1.8 [...]
Ever since Social Security came into existence in 1935 there has been vigorous debate about who should get it. On Thursday we were reminded that too many people are in line to receive it and not enough people are contributing. The result: The trust fund will pay out more this year than it takes in, [...]
Most students of the economy are focusing on the Fed’s planned wind down of monetary support, and that awful swamp known as the housing market. But increasingly I’m seeing smart souls question something that’s been off the table for a few years: inflation. Talking about inflation now is a bit like discussing fur fashions in [...]
I’m writing this post from Seoul, South Korea, a city that holds very special meaning for me. Seoul was my first full-time overseas assignment as a foreign correspondent (for The Wall Street Journal), and I spent almost five years here, intensely immersed in the history, economy and culture of this fascinating nation. I used to [...]
The stock market is rising on the healthcare news— the S&P 500 index gained 0.5% on Monday and the Dow industrials gained 0.4%. That’s a welcome relief because it wasn’t a given that stocks would react positively to a big, expensive government initiative. I don’t read this market rise as an endorsement of expanding federal [...]
