Median Household Income Chart

I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Doug Short, in his July 28, 2014 post titled “Real Median Household Income Rose .69 Percent in June” produced the chart below.  It is based upon data from Sentier Research, and it shows both nominal and real median household incomes since 2000, as …

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Current Economic Situation

With regard to our current economic situation, my thoughts can best be described/summarized by the posts found under the 38 “Building Financial Danger” posts. My thoughts concerning our ongoing economic situation – with future implications – can be seen on the page titled “A Special Note On Our Economic Situation,” which has been found near …

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Disturbing Charts (Update 15)

I find the following charts to be disturbing.   These charts would be disturbing at any point in the economic cycle; that they (on average) depict such a tenuous situation now – 61 months after the official (as per the September 20, 2010 NBER BCDC announcement) June 2009 end of the recession – is especially notable. These …

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Current Low Levels Of Financial Risk And Future Implications

Recently many indicators that are supposed to depict the level of risk in the financial markets and economy have been at or near all-time lows. Among these indicators are those that are broadly based, such as the VIX, VXO (VIX predecessor), St. Louis Financial Stress Index (STLFSI), and Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI), as …

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Average Hourly Earnings Trends

I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Along these lines, one of the measures showing disconcerting trends is that of hourly earnings. While the concept of hourly earnings can be defined and measured in a variety of ways, below are a few charts that I believe broadly illustrate problematic …

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July 1 Gallup Poll Results On Economic Confidence – Notable Excerpts

On July 1, 2014 Gallup released the poll results titled “U.S. Economic Confidence Remains Level.”  The subtitle is “Index averages -15 for June, similar to scores seen throughout 2014.” Notable excerpts include: Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index remained flat in June with a monthly average of -15, after rising to -14 in May. Monthly index scores …

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Consumer Confidence Surveys – As Of June 27, 2014

Doug Short had a blog post of June 27, 2014 (“Final June 2014 Michigan Consumer Sentiment Shows a Small Improvement“) in which he presents the latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence and Thomson/Reuters University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index charts.  They are presented below: (click on charts to enlarge images) – – There are a few aspects …

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