A list of all of Doc Werlin’s writings pertaining to economics.
The Dow Jones Industrial Index surpassed a major milestone this past Tuesday. For the first time, it crossed 30,000. This very popular price-weighted index follows United States blue chips – companies that are leaders [...]
COVID-19 has caused monumental disruptions across the globe. This past week, the federal Centers for Disease Control urged Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving, traditionally the busiest travel period of the year. The United States has [...]
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) should be signed over the next few days. It represents the most significant trade agreement in modern history. Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations, including China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, have [...]
Last Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized that the U.S. economy needs more fiscal and monetary policy support. He pledged that the Fed would take whatever actions are necessary to protect the economy [...]
The rapid escalation in the number of coronavirus victims has prompted policy makers in Europe and the United States to take or advocate corrective actions. On Saturday, the British prime minister introduced regulations that [...]
The International Monetary Fund reported that global public debt would rise to 100% of the world gross domestic product in 2020. On an unprecedented level, governments have made huge fiscal expenditures in response to the coronavirus [...]
The world has significantly changed its attitude toward fossil fuels since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed an embargo against the United States for its decision to resupply the Israeli military during the 1973 Arab-Israeli [...]
Economists now anticipate that our economy will only slowly recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Heartbreakingly, there is mounting evidence that COVID-19 has inflicted a loss of millions of jobs forever. The labor market has recovered [...]
The U.S. economy is grudgingly advancing. Economists now anticipate that our economic recovery will only slowly recover from the coronavirus pandemic. There is mounting evidence that the pandemic has cost a loss of inflicted [...]
Last Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized the need to keep interest rates near zero at least through 2023. He said, “We believe that achieving inflation that averages 2% over time helps ensure that longer term inflation expectations remain [...]
Official numbers prove what we feel in our bones – the U.S. economy has hit the proverbial glass ceiling. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. unemployment claims held steady at 884,000. This represents [...]
Last Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments helped bolster stock prices. Powell replaced the bank’s existing target for inflation of 2%. Instead, they would accept an average of 2%, and therefore allow price increases above [...]
The confusion about the status of the American economy and prescriptions to fix it has merit. The United States is in a recession, but this downturn is unlike any our country has ever witnessed. There [...]
In 1964 Bob Dylan wrote a song “The Times Are a Changin.” It was an anthem for frustrated youth and summed up the anti-establishment feelings of people who wanted America to embrace Civil Rights legislation. [...]
The Commerce Department last week reported the steepest-ever decline in the U.S. gross domestic product. The value of goods and services fell at an annual 32.9% in the second quarter, wiping out nearly five years [...]
A study by EY-Parthenon, a consultant to the education industry, indicated that some 800 of America’s 2,000 colleges could close. Twenty percent of colleges run deficits because of inadequate endowments, less than optimal enrollment and/or [...]
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes rose 20.7% in June over May. This is the biggest increase on record going back to 1968. The surge in existing-home sales follows [...]
The Time Life Building Only Has 500 workers showing up in comparison to Pre-Pandemic 8,000 The Rockefeller Center Ecosystem of Restaurants and Shops, created to serve Midtown workers and tourists, has gone dark Introduction: [...]
In June, retail sales increased by 7.5%. Retail sales account for about a quarter of all consumer spending. The reopening of malls, restaurants, and other service industry positions allowed millions of people to return to [...]
On Wednesday, United Airlines said that it is expecting to lay off close to 50% of its U.S. domestic workforce. United is not alone. American Airlines may have to cut 20,000 jobs, and Delta has [...]
On Thursday the Labor Department reported that we added 4.8 million jobs in June, reducing our unemployment rate slightly to 11.1%. This is our second month of job growth after losing 20 million jobs earlier [...]
As we approach the midyear, the future direction of our economy remains mixed. The renewed national upsurge in COVID-19 cases has forced some states and cities that have reopened to reverse course. President Donald Trump [...]
The reclosing of eleven Apple stores in four states on Friday highlighted the growing concerns that the coronavirus is gaining ground. Scientists have expressed anxieties that the U.S. has replaced Italy and China as [...]
Last Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: “This (COVID-19) is the biggest shock in the U.S. and in the world in living memory. We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 [...]
Last Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: “This (COVID-19) is the biggest shock in the U.S. and in the world in living memory. We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years [...]
China’s legislature has taken preliminary steps to impose greater national security control over Hong Kong. These efforts would override the territory’s partial autonomy in order to crush anti-Beijing protests. For several years, the tensions between [...]
Over the past few days, economic releases have highlighted the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, we learned that consumer spending dropped a record 16.4%. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that 36.5 [...]
Introduction Today’s New York Times highlighted the canonization of federal deficits. For the first 75 years of my life, I learned repeatedly that government deficits should be a source of fiscal concern. Today there [...]
On Wednesday, the European Commission projected that Europe’s economy will decline by 7.4% this year. Unfortunately, this downturn far exceeds the financial crisis of 2008, when the Eurozone’s economy shrank by 4.5%. Currently, economists expect [...]
Before we address our dire economic status we need to mourn the terrible toll caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1 million Americans have tested positive and 60,000 have died. During the Civil War, [...]
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that the global demand for oil would decline more this year than ever. Faith Birol, head of the Paris-based IEA, said: “We may see it was the worst [...]
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve announced a monumental $2.3 trillion program to provide funds for businesses and municipal governments. To underscore its efforts, Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, issued a statement: [...]
U.S. policymakers now anticipate that our country will experience the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The U.S. is at the center of the global pandemic. According to data compiled by John Hopkins [...]
President Trump signed a $2.2 trillion bill — the largest relief package in history — that hopefully will stabilize our coronavirus-battered economy. However, despite the enormous efforts on both the fiscal and monetary side, [...]
We now have a consensus that the United States, along with the world economy, will enter into a severe recession, surpassing the 2007-2008 slumps. Forecasting when the recession will begin is notoriously difficult; however, [...]
Borrowing by businesses is historically high relative to gross domestic product (GDP), with the most rapid increases in debt concentrated among the riskiest firms amid weak credit standards. Coronavirus represents a threat that has [...]
