Most investors and traders are constantly analyzing data, and painting the economic picture based on it.  But far too often we forget what’s creating the data.  Economics is a measure of the real economy, which is driven by real forces.  Monopolies are one thing to study, but how do monopolies or oligopolies exert their economic […]

Europe’s prospects continue to look bleak.  With some youth unemployment rates around 50%, it’s hard to imagine how a new generation of European workers will participate in any recovery.  Europe’s overall unemployment figures are still well higher than in the US, even considering that US numbers are not a true reflection of real unemployment in […]

We know that inflation is not accurately described based on the data alone.  Inflation is one of the big secrets that they need to keep low, like the unemployment numbers.  Other numbers are not so important, like the Dow.  It’s good if the markets up, but if it’s down, it’s not end of the world. […]

Banks have warned that if the Fed lowers the deposit rate on deposits they hold at the Fed (currently .25%) they would need to pass on the cost to the end user (depositor) to cover costs of Federal Insurance (FDIC) and other overhead costs associated with holding deposits.  Passing on fees to customers would likely […]