beyourowneconomist.blogspot.com
Be Your Own Economist ®: June 2012
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Be Your Own Economist. Friday, June 29, 2012. The Lehmann Letter (SM). Once again the European nations have decided to hang together rather than hang separately. Their efforts to save the Euro appear to bring them more rapidly together rather than drive them apart. Chancellor Angela Merkel said it wouldn’t happen, but……. Yesterday Germany made major concessions to support the Euro. As The New York Times reported in today’s edition:. 8220;European Leaders Agree to Use Bailout Fund to Aid Banks”. 8220;R...
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Be Your Own Economist ®: May 2012
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Be Your Own Economist. Thursday, May 31, 2012. Big Jump in Profits. The Lehmann Letter (SM). This morning’s GDP report included good news on profits. After-tax corporate profits surged to $1,669.3 billion in this year’s first quarter, rising substantially from last quarter’s $1,493.9 billion. Look at the chart to put it in perspective. The new reading is off the top of the chart, breaking away from an earlier plateau of around $1,400.0 billion. Click on chart to enlarge). 169; 2012 Michael B. Lehmann.
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Be Your Own Economist ®: Greece’s Grinding Deflation: A Precedent for Spain and Italy?
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Be Your Own Economist. Monday, July 23, 2012. Greece’s Grinding Deflation: A Precedent for Spain and Italy? The Lehmann Letter (SM). Stocks opened lower today because of fears regarding Spain’s economy. Will Spain go the way of Greece? A July 20 article in The Wall Street Journal discusses the circumstances that led to Greece's grinding deflation. This article serves as an excellent case study of the cost-dilemma facing Europe's southern periphery: Spain, Italy and Greece. 8220;Greece, like other euro me...
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Be Your Own Economist ®: What the Fed Said
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Be Your Own Economist. Friday, July 13, 2012. What the Fed Said. The Lehmann Letter (SM). Yesterday’s Letter featured The New York Times’s assessment of the Federal Reserve’s economic outlook as expressed at the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. (Minutes released with three-week delay.). Here’s what the Fed said:. 8220;Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee. June 19-20, 2012”. Http:/ www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomcminutes20120620.htm. 8220;Staff Economic Outlook.
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Be Your Own Economist ®: Existing Home Sales Remain Weak
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Be Your Own Economist. Thursday, July 19, 2012. Existing Home Sales Remain Weak. The Lehmann Letter (SM). The National Association of Realtors continues to speak optimistically of a housing recovery because of improved affordability, shrinking inventories and firmer prices:. Http:/ www.realtor.org/news-releases/2012/07/june-existing-home-prices-rise-again-sales-down-with-constrained-supply. But June existing home sales fell to 4.37 million. Place that number on the chart and decide for yourself.
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Be Your Own Economist ®: Sad Commentary
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Be Your Own Economist. Thursday, July 12, 2012. The Lehmann Letter (SM). Yesterday the Fed released the minutes for its most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting:. Http:/ www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20120711b.htm. They elicited a sad commentary in an article in this morning’s New York Times:. 8220;Fed Is Torn on Tipping Point for Action”. Http:/ www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/business/economy/federal-reserve-officials-show-disappointment-with-growth.html? 8220; Federal Reserve.
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Be Your Own Economist ®: Housing Starts: Big Jump
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Be Your Own Economist. Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Housing Starts: Big Jump. The Lehmann Letter (SM). Housing starts enjoyed a big jump in June to 760,000 the Census Bureau reported today:. Http:/ www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst.pdf. Let’s hope that’s the sign of recovery that many optimists have said we would soon see. Click on chart to enlarge). It will be a while, won’t it? Summer season: The Lehmann Letter will be in summer-vacation mode during July and August.). Housing Starts: Big Jump.
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Be Your Own Economist ®: Business Sales Stall
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Be Your Own Economist. Friday, July 20, 2012. The Lehmann Letter (SM). Manufacturing and trade sales have stalled according to a recent Census Bureau report:. Http:/ www.census.gov/mtis/www/data/pdf/mtis current.pdf. They had been recovering well from the recession, but then they declined in April and May (the latest available data). Sometimes there’s a hiccup in the data, and that could be the case here. Http:/ www.ism.ws/about/MediaRoom/newsreleasedetail.cfm? 169; 2012 Michael B. Lehmann. Be Your Own E...
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Be Your Own Economist ®: Housing Assistance: A Radical Plan
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Be Your Own Economist. Monday, July 16, 2012. Housing Assistance: A Radical Plan. The Lehmann Letter (SM). Many criticized the 2008 bailout of American banks for failing to also bail out mortgage debtors. Now banks that received public assistance have foreclosed on mortgages owed by those debtors. Large numbers of these homes remain vacant, exacerbating the housing slump. Now some officials in Fontana, CA are exploring a radical way out. Read all about it in the July 15 New York Times:. 8220;Desperate fo...
