We are living in an era of Big Tech dominance. On top of the mountain are Google (Alphabet), Apple, Facebook (Meta), Amazon and Microsoft. We rely on these companies to live, work, study and secure essential services. Over time, Big Tech has built a [...]
“Is our growth rate too good to be true?” The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a 6.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2021. This represents the fastest growth in almost 35 years. Unfortunately, [...]
KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, reported in late December that merger and acquisition activity in 2021 easily surpassed the pre-pandemic level. Moreover, KPMG reported that a survey of 350 business leaders reported M&A is [...]
Omicron, the newest and most contagious COVID variant, has not only cast a pall over the holiday season but also raises questions about the future. That is, will we continue to see the emergence [...]
There is a growing consensus that the United States will enjoy solid economic growth in 2022 despite concerns about inflation, supply chain disruptions, COVID-19, and Federal Reserve tightening. The Conference Board, a research group [...]
On Friday, the Labor Department revealed that the consumer price index (CPI) has climbed 6.8% over the past 12 months. This represents the fastest annual pace in almost 40 years. Inflation of this magnitude is eroding [...]
“Longer, more frequent outages afflict the U.S. power grid as states fail to prepare for climate change.” – The Washington Post The demand for coal, natural gas and oil now exceeds pre-COVID 19 levels. Government stimulus [...]
"The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens... clearly racist." "To the survivors, to the wives [...]
The magazine, The Economist, wrote in its October edition that, “The world is on the brink of a real-time revolution in economics, as the quality and timeliness of information are transformed. This state-of-the-art innovation [...]
Boyar Research, a premier equity research firm, recently provided an overview of the wide-ranging business changes that the pandemic has turbocharged. Specifically, it accelerated e-commerce evolutions to satisfy consumer demand. As consumers moved online, [...]
Last week, George Roberts and Henry Kravis gave up their positions as co-chief executive officers of KKR & Co. In 1976, Messrs. Kravis and Roberts, who are first cousins, founded KKR along with Jerome [...]
Introduction The debate over whether the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of taxes has become a significant political issue. I believe that America cannot continue to sustain $ trillion-dollar deficits. Therefore, taxes will need [...]
The demand for natural gas, coal and oil has created price increases not seen for years, pushing electricity costs in Europe to all-time highs. The supply shortage has several causes, including supply-chain bottlenecks and [...]
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that they will begin reducing the $120 billion monthly asset purchases soon. Economists and market participants welcomed their cautious approach for two reasons: (1) America’s growth [...]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, chairperson of the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy, has recommended that the 12 Federal Reserve Bank regional presidents stop stock trading by them and their staff. Her letter followed reports [...]
U.S. natural gas futures have soared to a seven-year high, almost doubling since the beginning of the year. Gas for October delivery recently reached $5.03 per million British thermal units, a level not reached since [...]
On Friday Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, sent a very strong message that our central bank could begin reducing its current $120 billion monthly purchases of bonds this year. The ultimate decision will depend [...]
On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported the core consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate rose 5.4% over the past year to the highest 12-month rate since 2008. Core inflation is a measure of the [...]
This April, the S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index posted the biggest annual percentage increase in 30 years of 16.6%. Housing prices have risen for 12 straight months, with the advances accelerating in all [...]
Unfortunately, America’s economic recovery is not indicative of the world economy. Federal Reserve officials will discuss measures to scale back our easy money policies because the U.S economy is doing so well and concerns [...]
In response to U.S. consumer prices (CPI) increasing the most in 13 years (4.5% year-on year), far beyond the Fed’s 2% guideline, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers that he has concerns about [...]
The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce awarded Team Tony Cancer Foundation the Small Business of the Year Award. For many years, I have been actively involved with Team Tony, CTAC (Coming Together Against Cancer) [...]
On June 21st, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified that while the U.S. will experience some inflation post Covid-19, he does not anticipate prices to increase similar to our experience in the late 1970’s [...]
A recent Harvard-CAPS-Harris Poll reveals that Americans have concerns about inflation but are increasingly bullish about the economy. Fifty-six percent of respondents believe the economy is strong and their personal finances are improving. Americans [...]
The Dow Jones Industrial Index made its debut 125 years ago. The index of 12 smokestack companies opened at 40.94 on the first day. Over its life, the Dow has risen on average 7.69% [...]
Americans are confronting a new challenge of having to wait and pay more for products. Supply chain woes have negatively impacted makers of everything from cars and clothing to home siding and medical needle containers. Fed [...]
Colonial Pipeline paid DarkSide, who specialize in digital extortion, 75 Bitcoins or approximately $5 million dollars, to recover its stolen data. Hackers encrypt its victims’ records and threaten to release it publicly unless paid [...]
We need to remember the lamentation of President Harry Truman. Harry wanted a ‘one-handed economist’. Truman once complained, “All my economists say, ‘on the one hand, but on the other’.” On the one hand [...]
From economists to the man on the street, we now have concerns over a rapid increase in inflation. Those of us who lived through the 1970’s and early 1980’s remember how America suffered from [...]
Currently, we can have confidence that the world’s two largest economies, China and the United States, will bolster the global economy. The International Monetary Fund upgraded their global growth forecast to 6% for 2021. [...]
The International Monetary Fund projects 6% global growth in 2021. America is driving the globe’s economic bus. The recently adopted $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has shifted the U.S. economy into high gear. The [...]
On Good Friday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a seasonally adjusted 916,000 jobs in March. Economists expect further positive news as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, states remove restrictions on [...]
The Biden Administration is evaluating a variety of possible tax increases, including boosting the corporate tax rate and the top marginal income-tax rate on wealthy individuals in order pay for its infrastructure, antipoverty measures [...]
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Could not put Humpty together again One year ago, the World Health Organization warned [...]
The oil and gas industry’s top lobbying arm, the American Petroleum Institute, is edging toward supporting a carbon tax. Later this month, API will issue a formal notification. Such a move would make fossil [...]
We are getting to the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is going to take longer. Part of the problem is that the United States participates in the global economy. Specifically, [...]
