2008

Since the beginning of the bull market in 1982, the U.S. has become a society hooked on debt. Total debt (including financial services companies) has nearly doubled as a percentage of GDP in those 25-odd years (from 133% of GDP at $4…

The financial services sector has been reeling from over $300 billion in writedowns due to the credit crisis that has spread globally. I expect further losses to hit this sector in the U.S. due to commercial real estate, credit cards,…

Update: A more thorough analysis of the Spanish economy is at my post Outlook for Spain: Recession.The leading Spanish Newspaper ABC is reporting that furniture sales are down 20% nationally for the first three months of 2008 due to the…

On Friday, the Spanish newspaper ABC reported that Spanish municipalities are being hit hard due to the tax revenue shortfalls emanating from the effects of the Spanish property market crash. The two local governments most affected have…

The Telegraph reported Friday that sales in the Spanish property market have plunged and many British vaction home investors will find themselves under water."In the clearest sign yet that the boom is over, the developers said the combined…

As the downturn takes hold in the U.S., the obvious dilemma for investors is knowing which sectors to avoid. Financial stocks are a sector obviously fraught with risk as they have already sustained enormous losses with many more to come as…

First the banks won't refinance, then they won't restructure mortgages, now they're pulling out all stops in this mortgage mess. They are pulling existing home equity lines of credit. That's right, in a feeble attempt to save their sorry…

I happened upon an article at "The Moderate Voice" about "Conspicuous Consumption" originally posted on UPenn's Wharton Business School's website. It's a great piece of research which explains nicely in part why Blacks and Hispanics tend…

The U.S. has been spending more than it earns for years. This deficit spending is measured as the current account deficit. The graph here is a depiction of where we were and what we have come to. We had a slight surplus in after the last…

The U.S. has been flashing red regarding recession for some time despite the naysayers.First, let me define recession because you usually hear that it's two consecutive quarters of a decline in real GDP. Not exactly. The National Bureau…