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| The Home Economist |
| Not ALL Producers Charging Lower Prices |
| 2010.03.25 18:37:22 | |
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If you've ever spent any time inside a brokerage house the office's top 'producers' are known as those money managers bringing in the most assets - with tons of money in their account books. Well, those producers - and even the under performing ones - charge prices that are included in the government's producer price index. (That's the measure used to be called the Wholesale Price Index but got a name-change after farmers and factories started to sell to regular consumers, like you and I.) Anyway, despite low inflation - prices - from most producers, those at the investment banks are raking it in, thanks to a market rebound. Tags: Producer Price Index |
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| The Home Economist |
| Boom |
| 2010.02.16 19:29:40 | |
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Obama announces $8 bil to build nuclear reactors. Too bad he can't harness the explosive energy being created in Congress. Tags: |
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| The Home Economist |
| We're Not Quitting, and that Tells You Something |
| 2010.02.16 16:28:46 | |
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When it comes to jobs, people are staying put. No word on how many are miserable, though even if the work stinks, hopefully these folks are happy to have it. But there are some numbers proving how things have changed from the past...take a look. And see how brazen we used to be with our bosses! The change is what economists look for - find out why...
Tags: quitting | jobs | quit jobs | by industry | region |
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| The Home Economist |
| It's Nuts |
| 2009.11.27 23:35:12 | |
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I am surviving entirely on a diet of pecan pie. Experts may not laud this as ideal nourishment just before the gym, but that's only because it takes a little creativity to focus on the high-protein content of the pecans. Happy Thanksgiving. Tags: |
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| The Home Economist |
| How Far Have We Come, Anyway? |
| 2009.11.04 22:20:12 | |
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Feminists have been challenging the traditional roles of women for decades. And while I don't dare discount their accomplishments - my God they're huge - I can't ignore the top three occupations held by women. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, they are: 1) Secretaries (3.1 million women) 2) Registered nurses (2.5 million women) 3) Elementary and middle school teachers (2.4 million women) All of these jobs are critical to their employing organizations and the economy. And they're life-changing. Let's face it, teachers work miracles, nurses single-handedly improve patient care, and secretaries are masters of efficiency. But it doesn't look like we busted out of our those traditional work roles our grandmothers were pressured into pursuing. Tags: |
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| The Home Economist |
| Cash-for-Clunkers Races to Finish With Good Stats |
| 2009.10.18 18:01:25 | |
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The President is patting himself on the back for the Cash-for-Clunkers success. Here's the after-the-fact tally: The program took 700,000 gas-guzzlers off the road. It gave $2.877 billion in rebates. The government says the most purchased cars were made-in-the-USA, and puts on the most-purchased list the Ford Focus, the Toyota Corolla (?) and the Honda Civic. The program is slated to boost economic growth by 0.3 to 0.4 percent for the period of July, August and September (third quarter.) And will create or save over 42,000 jobs for the second half of 2009.
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| The Home Economist |
| Do Not Disturb |
| 2009.10.18 17:28:48 | |
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Time is one of the most precious of all your resources. If your dinner, homework or office hours are often interrupted by sales calls Click Here for the Do Not Call Registry. Tags: Do not call registry |
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| The Home Economist |
| New Appliances: Decoding The Yellow Sticker |
| 2009.10.17 16:58:54 | |
No definite word about whether cash for clunkers - the government program that gave you money for buying a more energy efficient car - will apply to appliances. But there's no doubt that a updated washing machine will clean up your electric bill....and the environment. Here are the official government guidelines for evaluating the machines that keep your life humming along.  Tags: energy efficient appliances | cash for clunkers | yellow sticker | green appliances | energy start |
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| The Home Economist |
| Imported Vegetables Come with High Prices |
| 2009.10.14 17:12:45 | |
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It's a small world, which is why international tomato prices affect you.
Many of the vegetables your grocer buys from abroad are pricier, and that's particularly true for tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots and onions. According to the government's import price indexes released this morning, prices for those veggies on a whole are up 35 percent from last year. The point? Don't snub those home-grown organics so quickly, as they might be priced friendlier than you think. On the other hand, fruit prices from afar are doing just fine. Prices for the category that includes bananas and grapes actually fell by over 15 percent, according to the import price indexes from the Labor Department. In the summer, American produce is everywhere. But in winter, we tend to rely on farms abroad to stock our shelves. Tags: tomato prices | supermarket prices | fruit prices | local produce |
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| The Home Economist |
| Behind The Unemployed Are More Folks Out of Work |
| 2009.10.02 16:04:55 | |
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If you think it''s depressing to be one of the construction, manufacturing or retail workers who make up today's increasing unemployment rate, imagine what it's like for the people left out of that all important job statistic. Because in addition to those who have actively looked for work in the past four weeks without any luck - the definition of true unemployment - there's a few other growing groups that could use a little attention. About 2.2 million Americans would like to work, are available for work and had looked for a job in the past 12 months, but were not counted as "unemployed." They gave up the search over a month ago - the unemployed have sent out resumes or made phone calls in the past four weeks - and are now considered "marginally attached to the labor market." Step No. 1 might involve giving this group a better name, particularly since it's increasing. There are 615,000 new members from a year ago. Tags: real people | economy | hard to find | jobs | unemployment | discouraged workers |
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| The Home Economist |
| Housing Prices Can Be Expected to Rise from Bargain Basement Levels |
| 2009.10.02 02:01:57 | |
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My brother has been shopping for a condo for longer than he hasn't been shopping for one. Seriously, the guy has made it through a real estate boom and bust and now a potential recovery by both participating and sitting on the sidelines all at the same time. Not that I blame him, buying a property at the wrong time is a financial kick in the shins. And it's that fear that has everyone asking "What's going to happen next?" If you believe this month's pending home sales index from the National Association of Realtors, it's that prices have gone to the basement and may now be making their way out of the dark and damp levels of last year. Pending sales are rising and generally when that happens, prices follow a few months later. That's because they measure the number of homes that are under contract but have not yet closed - sort of a behind the scenes peek at housing activity. Yesterday, in fact, the Realtor Economists reported that index has risen for seven straight months - the longest continued ramp up since they started counting these contracts in 2001. And while the news is encouraging, we'll have to take it in stride. That's because a portion of those deals may not close. “The rise in pending home sales shows buyers are returning to the market and signing contracts, but deals are not necessarily closing because of long delays related to short sales, and issues regarding complex new appraisal rules,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist. “No doubt many first-time buyers are rushing to beat the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit, which expires at the end of next month.” Tags: |
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| The Home Economist |
| Now, In Your Home Town: More Out-of-Work Folks |
| 2009.10.01 03:55:08 | |
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Today we found out that all 372 major areas in the U.S. had more unemployed residents than they did a month earlier. When more people are out of work, an entire town suffers. That's because people without money generally don't spend money. They don't eat at local restaurants or pick up fresh flowers at a the shop on the corner, causing those establishments to suffer. What's worse, people without paychecks have trouble making their mortgages and are often forced - by either banks or personal financial circumstances - into quick and desperate home sales. Those are contagious, infecting the prices for real estate nearby. Some areas have been ill for some time - Flynt Michigan has a rate of 16.3 percent while El Centro California is at 28.7 percent. Then, there's the financial fit parts of our country, such as Boulder Colorado, where only 6.0 percent of the residents are actively looking for jobs. Find out where your city stands by clicking here and tell us whether you're worried. Tags: |