The Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday and there's one thing we know for sure: it's going to raise rates by another 25 basis points, lifting the federal funds rate to a range from 2.00 to 2.25%. Why are we so confident? Two reasons. First, the market in federal funds futures is putting the odds of [...]
Friday's jobs report finally included what appears to be evidence of the long-awaited acceleration in wage growth. Average hourly earnings grew 0.4% in August, which meant they were up 2.9% from a year ago, the largest 12-month increase since the economic recovery started in mid-2009. By contrast, these wages were up 2.6% in the 12-months [...]
It is ingrained in our societal message regarding investments that stocks are risky and bonds are safe. We all “know” this because we are told it, explicitly and subtlety, every day. Because of this, individuals in our country, and indeed around the world, have tens of trillions of dollars invested to earn 3% or [...]
For decades the United States has, directly and indirectly, subsidized global growth. For example, after World War II, the U.S. provided direct economic aid to Western Europe with the Marshall Plan, while also helping to rebuild Japan. And since then, we have provided never-ending direct aid to foreign countries, which has been a constant political [...]
"Wealth creation" versus "the redistribution of wealth" is an age-old political/economic battle. And once again, Senator Elizabeth Warren - among others - has capitalism in the crosshairs. Adam Smith defended capitalism in 1776. Karl Marx attacked it in the 1800s. William Jennings Bryant attacked it; Grover Cleveland defended it. FDR attacked it; Ronald Reagan defended [...]
Since March of 2009, the predictions of economic, and stock market collapse have been non-stop. Doom-and-gloomers have been unrelenting. And it's doubly frustrating since you can't disprove a negative until it doesn't happen. We have written hundreds of pieces since the recovery - and bull market – began, arguing that the pessimism was unjustified. We've [...]
Paul Krugman, Larry Summers and Bob Gordon have some 'splainin to do. Where's that "secular stagnation?" Since 2009, they, along with many others, have said the US economy is stuck at 2% real growth. Their theory got traction after 2009, as the U.S. saw what we called a Plow Horse Economy. But, we never believed [...]
Economic growth surged in the second quarter this year. The only question is, by how much? Predicting this Friday's GDP report is trickier than usual. First, it's the initial report for the quarter. Second, we have to wait until Thursday for key data on exports and imports, which is particularly important because the trade sector [...]
At least three reasons suggest the Democrats should be optimistic about taking control of the House this November. First, the party controlling the White House typically loses seats in mid-terms. These include "tidal waves" against the president's party like in 1994 and 2010, when newly-elected presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama watched their parties lose [...]