Corona vs SARS, Strong Jobs Report, Home Appreciation
Coronavirus death toll is approaching the near 800 killed by SARS in 2002 & 2003. The estimated global economic impacted of SARS was $40B. 17 years Later Chinese economic output has gone up from $1.7T to $14T (8x) and its share of global trade is at 12.8% compared to 5.3% in 2003. “China today accounts […]
529 Plans Expanded Again, Rates Improve, Strong Home Sales
As of December 2019 you can use up to $10,000 of 529 plans to pay down student loans for yourself or a sibling ($10,000 per). The new law also allows the funds to be used for apprenticeships that are registered with the Federal Labor Department. This is the second expansion in 2 years – in […]
Female Labor Force, Soft Weekly Earnings, Fed Juice?
Women secured 95% of the net jobs added in December and for the second time in US history women make up over 50% of the workforce. This figure is for payroll jobs that excludes farm workers and self employed individuals. During the great recession men were handed ‘pink slips’ before women and there was a […]
Historic Bubbles, Rates Improve, Home Appreciation
Bubbles – NPR’s Planet Money is doing a series on bubbles & this one took place in Kuwait during the late 1970’s. A massive influx of oil money had recently changed the city from minimal infrastructure (no running water/minimal electricity) to a bustling metropolis. With a highly regulated market and stable political climate became a […]
Polymaths, Jobs, Home Sales, New Construction
Polymath – was first used in the early 17th century to mean a person with ‘many learnings’ – most researches argue that to be a true polymath you need some kind of formal acclaim in at least two apparently unrelated domains. Some people fear that the pursuit of too many interests can lead to the […]
PDX Grocer Sells, Loans Perform, Inflation Data
Local grocer New Seasons sold for an undisclosed amount to South Korean Company Emart (who purchased Good Food Holdings last year for $275M). In the last 20 years the chain has built 21 stores, 18 in the Portland Metro, and employes 3,800 workers. It also owned 5 California markets operating under the “New Leaf Community […]
Income Inequality, Jobs, Appreciation
Income Inequality – during the first 70 years of the 20th century the ‘top 1%’ share of income dropped below 10% of the total pie. Over the previous 50 years it has rocketed back up to 20%. Alarmingly, a similar trend is absent in Western Europe. Rather than focus on tax-code redistribution of wealth, Europe […]
Thanksgiving Price, Home Sales Strong, Rates Improve Marginally
Thanksgiving – NPR runs a story on the cost of Thanksgiving every year where they have volunteer shoppers from around the country survey and evaluate prices for the classic Thanksgiving meal for 10. The price came out to $48.91 which is up one single penny from last year. Turkey has come down 4% at $1.30 […]
Jobs Report, Fed Rate Cut, Inflation Mild
Delayed maintenance can really bite you, and your clients. PG&E’s equipment has been blamed for starting a 100,000 acre fire that killed approximately 100 people and is now resorting to blacking out areas of its grid to avoid future incidents (they are estimated to be liable for $30B and it is speculated they will not […]
How Tax Code Created ‘The Claw’, Rates increase in September
The “beverage of the summer’s” popularity (a frat spent $7,500 on a bulk purchase in Austin) is due partially to our tax laws. Spirits are taxed at a higher rate than beer making it expensive to mix vodka into a cocktail and sell it. White Claw outsmarted the tax code by reinvented the process to […]