Finance Reform Bill – A Few Comments

With regard to the finance reform bill, I found a few comments in Friday’s (July 16) Wall Street Journal to be notable. First, this quote from a story titled “Impact to Reach Beyond Wall Street”: “”The bill does not respond at all to the causes of the financial crisis,” said Peter Wallison, a former Reagan …

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“That Won’t Be Allowed To Happen”

Occasionally I hear “That won’t be allowed to happen,” which has been said by many prominent people within the political, financial and economic community.  This phrase, in essence, is meant to say that some type of severe economic weakness or other calamitous economic event won’t, and can’t, occur. I find this phrase rather mystifying; rarely …

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Retail Sales Per Capita Chart

On June 17, ContraryInvestor.com had a chart that showed retail sales per capita since 2005.  Total retail sales, as depicted, includes autos and gasoline: Below the Retail Sales Per Capita is a chart of the S&P Retail Sales Index. Of course, this view of total retail sales, on a per-capita (factoring in population growth) basis, …

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Raghuram Rajan Interview – Noteworthy Comment

A June 17 2010 Raghuram Rajan interview contained several interesting viewpoints. While I don’t necessarily agree with what he says in this interview, I found it to be well worth reading. Of particular note was the following comment, which I found provocative – if not very much so – and thought-provoking, as its implications, if …

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Disturbing Charts (Update 1), Part II

As a continuation of the last post, here are three other charts that I find disturbing in nature. These charts raise a lot of questions.  Many of these questions I have discussed in the blog, as I believe they are very significant in nature.  Additionally, these charts should highlight the “atypical” nature of our economic …

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Four Erroneous Phrases

Over the last few months, four phrases have been used frequently in describing our economic condition.  I find these phrases to be inaccurate and misleading. Here are the four phrases (in italics) and some brief commentary: “the Great Recession” Many people have labeled the economic weakness (ended by the subsequent purported economic recovery) as “the …

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The “Paycheck To Paycheck” Condition

Yesterday The Wall Street Journal had a story about Wal-Mart’s results. I found two aspects of the story notable.  First, the sales results seemed particularly low in relation to the recent widespread media coverage of strong retail sales.  Wal-Mart “said that U.S. sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.1%, and store visits …

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