The Daily Economy
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The Slow Road Back on Housing
Housing data released last week showed further improvement. Existing home sales were up 2.4 percent from November, and it was announced earlier in the week that housing starts were up 4.4 percent.
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Low Gas Prices Feel Great, But Don’t Help Much
The drop in gas prices has a big psychological impact on consumer confidence, but as a practical matter, doesn’t have much of an impact on consumer spending, says our senior research analyst, Bob Hughes.
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Presidents’ Parties and Job Creation
One of our readers recently suggested that “One may find that Republicans tend to create private sector jobs and Democrats tend to create public sector jobs.”
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Why the Oil Export Ban Could Be Overturned
Times were very different when the U.S. banned exporting unrefined crude oil four decades ago: In the wake of an oil embargo, world oil prices quadrulpled.
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A Look at Economy Under Obama
Here’s an interesting story in today’s Wall Street Journal, on the occasion of President Obama’s State of the Union address.
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That Elusive Pay Raise, At the Pump
Consumers are enjoying a tangible break on their cost of living through lower energy prices, effectively handing them the money they’re not getting in pay increases at work. But the savings may not help as much as you think.
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Prices Tame, Consumer Sentiment Stronger
Look for the Federal Reserve to be even more patient with raising interest rates amid this morning’s data showing that consumer prices were still quite tame.
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Economic Education at the AEA 2015 Conference
We were excited to participate in the American Economic Association annual meeting in Boston earlier this month. AIER had the honor of presenting a poster (shown right) at a session of the association’s Committee on Economic Education.
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Five Ways to Ease the Burden of Your Passing
Nobody likes to plan for when bad things happen. But not doing so can put more stress on your nearest and dearest at a time of grief or worry.
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Retail Sales Numbers Jarring, Perplexing
A surprise retail sales report showing a bigger-than-expected drop in most categories is a reason to pay attention – but it’s hard to draw any meaningful conclusions from a single report, however jarring.
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Feeling better off? Go see a show
The National Endowment for the Arts released a study on Monday showing that people who perceive they are in a higher income bracket are more likely to have attended an artistic presentation in the last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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Rethinking “Safe” Investing as Retirement Approaches
When it comes to retirement drawdown strategies, what you read in the popular and financial press is often focused on households with higher-than-average savings.
