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Economy

13 Aug 2014

Poor Countries, Rich Countries

Economy
My fellow Forbes.com contributor Ana Swanson asks the question, "Would You Rather Be Rich in a Poor Country, or Poor in a Rich Country?" Her article has some startling statistics. For example, the poorest five percent …
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29 Jul 2014

Housing Vacancy Improving

Economy
The housing market is improving, according to vacancy figures released today by the government. Forget "bank-owned" and what Realtors call "inventory." The best way to look at the housing market is to see how many …
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30 Apr 2014

GDP Lousy But Not Awful

Economy
Today's GDP report showed positive growth, by the least little bit possible, 0.1 percent. This is lousy, but it's not awful because some of the bad news is temporary. The bad weather is part of …
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29 Apr 2014

Housing Vacancy Rates Flat

Economy Real Estate
Forget what the Realtors call "inventory." Forget short-sales, bank-owned, and upside-down. The best measure of the housing market is how many units are empty. A normal market has vacancy. Someone moves out of a house, …
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24 Apr 2014

Business Capital Spending Flat

Economy
Businesses are not growing their capital expenditures, though we can take a little comfort that neither are they shrinking them. Corporations are sitting on lots of cash, and interest rates are very low for credit-worth …
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26 Mar 2014

Corporate Executives Are Lagging, Not Leading

Economy
In economic indicator parlance, a "leading indicator" changes BEFORE the overall economy changes. (Think of the "lead dog" rather than the "leading lady".) A lagging indicator changes AFTER the overall economy. The Business Roundtable quarterly …
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