The February 2013 S&P Case Shiller home price index shows a 9.3% price increase from a year ago for over 20 metropolitan housing markets and a 8.6% change for the top 10 housing markets from February 2012. This is the highest yearly gain since May 2006. Let the housing bubble return!
The rich get richer and the rest of us get the economic shaft. That is the theme of this so called economic recovery since 2009. A new Pew Research report, A Rise in Wealth for the Wealthy; Declines for the Lower 93%, analyzes newly released Census data on wealth. What they found is the rich got richer and the rest of us got poorer. The great American wealth transfer continues.
Once again our daily barrage of economic injustice news is overwhelming. From lobbyist lies to interest rate swap rigging to killing workers by the hundreds to our best and brightest working jobs flipping burgers, here are some quick economic news shorts that you don't want to miss.
Q1 2013 real GDP came in at 2.5% This is an improvement, from the stagnant economy GDP in the 4th quarter implied. Government spending declines continue to be a drag on the economy and sucked out -0.9 percentage points from 1st quarter real gross domestic product growth. Imports increased and cost the United States -0.9 percentage points of Q1 GDP. Investment recovered on changes to farm private inventories. Consumer spending increased from Q4 as well. Generally speaking 2.5% GDP implies moderate economic growth, yet overall demand in the economy is weak.
A Flash Crash hit all major US stock markets this afternoon when a hacked Associated Press alert appeared which stated that two major explosions occurred at the White House, injuring President Barack Obama. Within seconds all the major stock indexes - the Dow Jones Industrials, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ, began plummeting.
March New Residential Single Family Home Sales increased 1.5%, or 417,000 annualized sales. New Single Family Housing inventory is at a 4.4 month supply. New single family home sales are now 18.5% above March 2012 levels, but this figure has a ±17.2% margin of error. A year ago new home sales were 352,000.
The Great Corporate Tax Dodge is alive and well. A couple of new studies show corporate taxes as a percentage of total tax revenues are at a 60 year low and many corporations pay no tax at all. The GAO issued a new report which shows use of corporate tax breaks cost the U.S. government $181.4 billion in 2011 alone.
NAR reported their March 2013 Existing Home Sales. Existing home sales decreased -0.6% from last month and inventories increased to a still very tight 4.7 months of supply. Existing homes sales have increased 10.3% from a year ago. Volume was 4.92 million against February's 4.95 million, annualized existing home sales.
America has a problem, a big problem. We have a Congress who will only act when powerful lobbyists throw enough money at them. Such is the result of the new Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. This bill will be an unmitigated disaster for working America. The bill increases the U.S. legal labor supply by at least 14 million by giving not just those here illegally legal status but also those who were previously deported who still have family members in the U.S. the legal status to work.
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