Each month the Government and private organizations release dozens of statistics that help market participants and policy makers judge the health of the economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s monthly Employment Situation Report …
Economy
What’s Your Personal Inflation Rate?
To know what’s really happening to your own standard of living, don’t pay attention to government’s statistics – just go to the grocery store or a department store and look around you.
Is This Stock Market Rally for Real?
Despite all the problems facing the global economy, the average U.S. stock has doubled from its 2009 lows. So this seems like the time to ask whether share prices have run up too far, too fast.
Will High Gas Prices Hurt Obama?
Fears over conflict in the Middle East are pushing gasoline towards the $4 per gallon mark. What will that mean for the presidential elections?
Is America’s Economic Recovery Real?
That’s the $64,000 question, particularly for the U.S. presidential elections – if things keep improving, it’s only good news for Obama. The economy has been on a roll this year, with unemployment down, consumer and …
Can a Second Bailout Save Greece?
After months of delays, arguments and doubts, euro-zone finance ministers agreed on a second, $170 billion bailout of beleaguered Greece in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The agreement will not only provide fresh financing …
Is It Time to Start Worrying About Inflation Again?
The greatest threat to any long-term investor is inflation. It not only erodes the value of stocks and bonds, but also depresses economic growth and misleads policymakers.
Credit Standards May Finally Be Loosening For Housing
It’s wild to think that a strawberry picker who earned $15,000 qualified for a $720,000 mortgage in 2005. But it’s just as ridiculous to think that a buyer with a credit score of 720 and who can put 20% down may not have …
What Happens if Greece Doesn’t Get a Bailout?
After the Greek Parliament on Sunday passed yet another package of austerity measures demanded by its euro-zone neighbors — this one worth $4.4 billion — the path seemed clear to finalizing a long-delayed, second bailout of …
Are We Already Planting the Seeds of the Next Financial Crisis?
Central banks are trying to revive weak economies by injecting large amounts of money. That policy helps in the short run, but easy money can also create the conditions for future booms and busts.
Why the Greek Bailout Doesn’t Change Much of Anything
Thursday’s deal is supposed to allow Greece to avoid default and prevent the Eurozone from breaking up – but the deal isn’t final, it can’t work, and the real problems lie elsewhere.
Graphic: Executive Pay
Facebook’s initial public offering filings revealed the salary of its top execs as a percentage of company income, which is four times that of Apple’s executive staff. How does it compare to other top American companies?