Texas Jobless Rate in April At Record Low of 4.1%
Friday, June 11th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »AUSTIN — The April statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down from 4.3% in March and 4.4% in April 2007, once again matching the record low set in February (see chart above, click to enlarge). The 4.1% April ...
And You Thought Gas Prices Were High.. “Agflation”
Saturday, May 29th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »The chart above shows prices for retail gasoline prices and wholesale milk prices over the last year, using data from the EIA (monthly gas prices) and Global Financial Data (monthly average corn prices paid to farmers), both converted to a ...
Global Stock Market Capitalization Sets New Record
Friday, May 28th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »Carpe Diem Exclusive! According to global stock market statistics from the World Federation of Exchanges, the world stock market capitalization reached an all-time record of $59.74 trillion in September 2007 (see graph above, click to enlarge). Comared to last September, ...
If Fed Can’t Fine-Tune, It Should Focus on Inflation
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »Notice in the chart above that over the last 7 years the Federal Reserve has moved the target Fed Funds rate (blue line) from 6% in early 2001 to 1% for about 12 months from mid-2003 to mid-2004, and then ...
Are You Ready for This? Cars That Get 200-300 mpg
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »VW will sell a 230-mpg car (above) in 2010, here's the story. The 300 m.p.g. Aptera (pictured above) will sell for $27,000-$30,000, and you can reserve one now for $500, they should be available within 12 months. (Thanks to an anonymous ...
Monster Employment Index Rises 7 Points in April
Thursday, May 20th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »The Monster Employment Index added seven points in April, the strongest single month gain in more than 12 months, as online job availability in the U.S. continued to rise for the third consecutive month (see chart above). Monster Worldwide's VP of ...
Wal-Mart Puzzle: Why Is It Thriving?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »According to Daniel Gross at Slate.com, Wal-Mart's stock is at a 2-year high (see chart above) because:1. Wal-Mart sells necessities, not discretionary items. The overwhelming majority of its sales are not impulse buys. Even in a recession, most people don't ...
Despite Media Reports to the Contrary: U.S. Retail Sales Are Actually Increasing, Not Falling
Sunday, May 16th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »The Commerce Department today reported that: 1) total retail sales in December 2007 were 4.1% above December 2006, 2) sales for the 12 months of 2007 were up 4.2 percent% from 2006, and 3) total sales for the October ...
Russia Gains 50 Billionaires in 12 Months
Sunday, May 16th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »The number of Russian billionaires has almost doubled in a year to reach 110, Forbes magazine reported, bolstering the country's reputation for conspicuous wealth. MP: Bling, bling, it's the new "blingshoviks!" A post from the heart of Russia, in ...
Ancient Land of Pharaohs Has A High-Tech Future?
Sunday, May 16th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »Silicon.com -- Egypt is making a pitch to be the next offshore outsourcing hot-spot, claiming that its foreign language skills and low labour costs put the country in a strong position to compete with India and eastern Europe. AT Kearney ...
