The Retired Investor: Rents Rising as More Americans Priced Out of Housing MarketBy Bill Schmick,
05:35PM / Thursday, May 25, 2023 | |
Nationwide, rents have been climbing since the pandemic, but it is still cheaper to rent than to buy in most of the country. As such, in some states, building houses-to-rent is becoming a trend.
Home prices continue to soar with the median sale price of a U.S. home gaining 32 percent in the first quarter of this year from the same time in 2020. Throw in the climb in mortgage interest rates and there is no wonder that a record number of Americans believe it is a terrible time to buy a house, according to a Gallup survey. Renting seems to be the only alternative.
But the unfortunate fact is that rents are growing faster than incomes in the U.S. The trend began 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Markets Signaling No Debt DefaultBy Bill Schmick,
04:45PM / Friday, May 19, 2023 | |
The only thing that mattered to investors this week was the looming U.S. government debt default. Fortunately, the comments from major players in the debt talks have been largely encouraging. The devil, however, will be in the details.
The stated deadline for the passage of raising the debt ceiling is June 1, according to Janet Yellen of the U.S. Treasury Department. Some argue that it is a self-imposed deadline. Depending on several factors, including tax revenues, the U.S. might conceivably stretch its ability to pay its debt as far out as August, but that is no sure thing.
In any case, even if the two sides fail to agree on the details there is also the 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Food Prices May Be Moderating in Some CasesBy Bill Schmick,
04:44PM / Thursday, May 18, 2023 | |
For more than a year, consumers have been contending with higher food prices. The latest read of April's Consumer Price Index, however, gave some hope that relief may be around the corner.
Headline inflation rose 0.4 percent last month but a look under the hood revealed that the "food at home index" declined. This was the second month in a row that prices for fruit, vegetables, meat, and eggs among other items, fell.
That may be so, but I certainly am not seeing those price declines in my shopping bill. Let's take eggs for example. You may remember that in December 2022, we were paying as much as $5.46 on average for a dozen eggs. The 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Retiring Boomers Keep Job Gains BuoyantBy Bill Schmick,
04:37PM / Thursday, May 11, 2023 | |
The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank has been battling inflation for well over a year. A key variable in their efforts has been to slow the economy enough to reduce employment. The opposite is happening, thanks to the Baby Boomers.
Historically, the Fed has used interest rates successfully to manipulate employment. Their use harkens back to a theory John Maynard Keynes espoused in his 1936 treatise, "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money." Keynes argued that there exists an inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation and that governments should manipulate fiscal and economic policy to ensure a balance between the two. So far, it is not 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Efficiency vs. Safety in America's RailroadsBy Bill Schmick,
04:27PM / Thursday, May 04, 2023 | |
American capitalism has long applauded and rewarded economic efficiency. Faster turnaround times, producing the same results with fewer workers, and doing more with less are the name of the game. Most times it works but sometimes it doesn't.
Over the past few years, that mantra of efficiency and profit growth has worked well for big freight operators in the railroad business. Wall Street has rewarded their efforts with higher stock prices and rail companies have returned the favor with generous dividends and stock buybacks.
Truth be told, America has had a long-lasting love affair with railroads that dates back almost 200 years. For most of that time, 0 Comments
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