Another week that began with stock market turmoil. 7%, 13% and 20% – those are the magic drops in the S&P 500 that trigger “circuit breakers” for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Circuit breakers are when stock market trading is halted to give investors and traders a breather to assess what is going on […]
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In 2019 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released an analysis of real wage trends over the period 1979-2018. The Congressional Research Service is part of the Library of Congress and works exclusively for the United States Congress. The goal of the CRS is to provide nonpartisan analysis on relevant policy issues and legal analysis to […]
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What a week – global stock markets around the world tanked as fears and health concerns increased over the coronavirus – including both the spreading of the virus and preparedness for the virus. Pick a country – Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Mexico, England, China, United States – all the markets were down significantly, generally 10% […]
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This blog will take a look at real wage growth in the United States and look at real wage growth from a variety of perspectives and different time frames. Real wage growth adjusts the nominal (actual) wage growth for inflation. In other words, it measures the purchasing power change in wages. Generally, it’s one of […]
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Following bipartisan support in Congress, in January 2020 President Trump signed the United States, Mexico, and Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA). The USMCA effectively modifies rather than replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the original trade agreement between the three nations implemented in 1994. Mexico has ratified the new trade deal, while the Canadian […]
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Unfortunately, the coronavirus has become an increasing global health concern. As the death toll and number of people infected with the coronavirus rises, the global outbreak has also influenced financial markets. Financial markets hate uncertainty. Uncertainty can lead to market declines and significant increases in market volatility. When September 11 occurred it not only had […]
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Summary and Future Challenges The United States has enjoyed a prolonged period of economic growth; a record period of economic growth. Since 2010 economic growth has continued, the unemployment rate decreased to a 50-year low, and the stock market has generally increased reflecting the strong economy. The economic growth has largely been driven by factors […]
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Number 5: Drivers of The Stock Market The S&P 500 index is a benchmark index for measuring the performance of the U.S. stock market. It is a diversified index that contains the stocks of 500 relatively large companies (large cap) in an array of industries. Stock prices reflect expectations of future corporate profitability – more […]
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Number 4: The Yet to be Paid Increasing Costs of the Federal Deficit and Debt The Federal Deficit The federal budget deficit refers to U.S. federal government spending exceeding government income. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Government spending totaled $4.1 trillion in 2018; government revenues were $3.3 trillion, contributing to a deficit of roughly […]
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Number 3: The Timing of Those Tax Cuts Part of what made the recent tax cuts unique is that they occurred in a growing economy with near historic lows in unemployment. Prior to 2018, recent tax cuts occurred when the economy was struggling and unemployment was relatively high. In the current economic recovery, the payroll […]
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