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As the dust settled, it became apparent that 2017 was one for the records.  Unfortunately, natural catastrophes were what set many of the records.  According to Munich Re (a reinsurer), insured disasters globally reached an all-time high cost of $135 billion., nearly three times higher than the annual average of $49 billion.  Sadly, this figure covers just 41 percent of the total

Prices paid by wholesalers and producers fell during December according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Their Producer Price Index (PPI) declined 0.1 percent in the period.  Versus a year earlier, this measure decelerated to 2.6 percent from 3.1 percent in November.  Core-PPI, which removes food and energy because of their volatility, fell 0.1 percent to end the year and slow

Winter temperature weren’t the only things cooling off as last year came to a close.  The December 2017 reading of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) small business optimism index shed some of its recent heat as well.  Fortunately, the cooling was more like that of Southern California and not the East.

America’s leadership in the global economic expansion is evident in the November 2017 Trade Balance report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  America is increasing its purchases from foreign countries faster than trading partners are increasing their purchases from our nation; an important takeaway is that both imports and exports are expanding.  With a shortfall of $50.5 bi

Our modern world is full of distractions.  Beeps, buzzes, custom ringtones, and dings interrupt thoughts daily.  These intrusions often keep us from completing tasks at hand because they consistently cause our interests to change.  In other words, our rate of interest grows for the present distraction while declining from a relatively longer-term goal, possibly sacrificing poster

America’s economic expansion showed no signs of fatigue in December 2017 according to data from the Institute for Supply Management.  Both sides of the economy maintained readings well above the breakeven level of 50.0.  The cyclically sensitive manufacturing segment accelerated to a reading of 59.7 (a 14-year high) from the already impressive tally of 58.2 in November.  Se

New home sales growth was strong in November 2017 according to data from the Census Bureau.  Rising to 733,000 units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, its 17.5 percent surge is the largest in 25 years.  Compared to a year earlier, transactions increased 26.6 percent. 

America’s economy continued adding jobs in December 2017 according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Employers hired a net 148,000 new workers as the year came to a close.  Despite the monthly increase in jobs, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent as the number of available workers also rose in the period.

Retirement goals are often met with a little help from friends, specifically those from subsequent generations.  Pensions are perfect examples.  As one works and contributes to defined contribution plans (think Social Security), the design of the scheme is rarely self-financed.  Outcomes tend to be best if the next generation is larger and wealthier than the one before it. 

Durable Goods Orders soared in November according to data from the Census Bureau.  Aircraft orders (up 31 percent in the period) provided much of the lift in the period’s 1.3 percent improvement.  This most recent uptick followed an upwardly revised, albeit still disappointing, October tally of -0.4 percent (originally -1.2 percent).