A list of all of Doc Werlin’s writings pertaining to economics.
The federal government budget deficit is fiscally irresponsible. For the second year in a row, the shortfall will exceed $1 trillion. The current generation of political leaders is now oblivious to fiscal constraint. The [...]
There is widespread expectation that Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, will initiate a fresh round of monetary stimulus. His actions would reflect growing concern that the trade conflict between the United [...]
The observance of the 75th anniversary of D-Day has deservedly caused universal celebration. Winston Churchill articulated the importance of defeating Hitler. It prevented us from “sinking into the abyss of a new Dark Age.” [...]
President Trump’s surprising announcement that starting June 10 America will impose a 5% tariff on imports from Mexico has heightened tensions not only on our Southern border but also caused global turbulence. Since taking [...]
The Wall Street Journal reported that our government is using Big Data, a revolutionary methodology to accumulate information about our economy in order to track our results and report their findings. Big data is [...]
Trustees of Social Security have recently reported that its costs will exceed its income in 2020. This shortfall will force the program to dip into its nearly $3 trillion trust fund to cover benefits. [...]
Is the world in danger of drowning in debt? The International Monetary Fund this month issued a report highlighting its concerns about worldwide debt, which it said totals some $152 trillion. “The period of [...]
On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy’s rate of growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the last quarter of 2018. This is below the 3.4 percent growth [...]
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell said that he is concerned about low inflation not only in the United States but also in other developed countries. Specifically, inflation for a significant time period [...]
“The high level of U.S. government debt is likely to mean that the U.S. economy is much more interest-rate sensitive than it has been historically.” Robert Kaplan, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Robert [...]
The anticipation that U.S. corporations will repurchase a record $940 billion of their stock has raised significant congressional criticism, particularly from Democratic presidential hopefuls, but also from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. The [...]
This past Thursday, President Donald Trump gave an upbeat assessment of efforts to settle our trade dispute with China. Vice Premier Liu He promised China would buy more U.S. farm and energy products and [...]
President Harry S. Truman once quipped that he wanted a “one-handed” economist because all his economic advisers said, “on the one hand this, and the other hand that!” Alas, “Give ‘em Hell Harry” would [...]
On Thursday, the markets dropped precipitously for a variety of reasons, including Apple’s disappointing revenue projections, concerns over the Federal Reserve ‘s monetary policy, the U.S.-China trade impasse and weak U.S. manufacturing data. Stephen [...]
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve nudged up short-term interest rates to 2.25 to 2.5 percent, the ninth increase since December 2015. In recognition of slowing growth in China, Japan and Europe and of our [...]
Over the past six weeks, U.S. crude oil prices have dropped from close to $75 a barrel to below $50, the lowest since October 2017. It is almost inconceivable that just a few weeks [...]
Last week, Amazon chose New York City and Northern Virginia as the locations for the company’s second and third headquarters. To attract Amazon, New York offered a package of nearly $3 billion, while Virginia [...]
In recent weeks, significant attention has been paid to the possibility of a stock market correction. By contrast, few have focused on the challenges developing in the corporate bond market. The bond market is [...]
The completion of the U.S.–Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) alleviates the concerns of businesses and investors who for months worried about our trade relationships with Canada and Mexico. Investors seem generally relieved that important components of [...]
Ten years after the global financial crisis, the combined debt of sovereign governments, nonfinancial corporations and households has grown by $72 trillion to a total of $169 trillion, according to a briefing note from [...]
Our economy is robust but we need to remember that capitalism is inherently unstable and undergoes cycles of boom and bust. In 2008, our financial institutions were overleveraged and held too many toxic assets. [...]
Ten years ago, the Federal Housing Finance Agency seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing them in conservatorship. The federal agency did this because the mortgage giants’ $5 trillion loan portfolios were in danger [...]
What a difference a year makes. In 2017, the U.S. dollar was weak and the prices of commodities, metals and oil were strong. Now the strength of the U.S dollar has wreaked havoc on [...]
This past week, Apple Inc. became the first publically traded U.S. company to have a market value in excess of $1 trillion. Apple has succeeded because it dominates the smartphone market and is cultivating [...]
Last Thursday, President Donald Trump broke with tradition and criticized the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates. Historically, presidents have refrained from speaking specifically about monetary policy. On CNBC, Trump said: “I am [...]
Sadly, our polarized political atmosphere prevents the country from dealing with important issues such as immigration, infrastructure spending and coming up with appropriate trade policies. The United States is the world’s wealthiest country, with [...]
The General Electric Co. has a storied, 110-year history as one of a handful of companies that were at the center of American capitalism and industrial innovation. GE created the first incandescent light bulb, [...]
For the first time since such record-keeping began in 2000, the number of job openings has exceeded the number of jobless. U.S. job openings rose to 6.7 million, the Labor Department reported on June [...]
The May labor report showed that the American economy is booming. Strong hiring indicated that economic growth is likely to accelerate this year, after increasing at a modest 2.2 percent annual pace in the [...]
Over dinner the other night, a good friend asked me about my outlook on the stock market. Having been a corporate bond trader for most of my Wall Street career, I have learned that [...]
The United States has advocated free trade policies of unrestricted imports and exports since the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. This principle of refraining from imposing tariffs or quotas remained the case even after [...]
Last Tuesday, Spotify, a superstar in the music-streaming sector, went public employing a very unusual initial public offering. Spotify listed existing shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange without relying on investment bankers [...]
I find it difficult to realize that I started writing “Doc’s Prescription” in March 2008. During the subsequent decade, both our economy and I reached rock bottom and pinnacles. My first column dealt with [...]
The pension funds of state and local governments and corporations are facing a total shortfall of up to $6 trillion. Some 200 multi-employer pension plan companies face bankruptcy. And unless this fiscal shortfall is [...]
“The hypocrisy is astounding. Every one of these Republicans complained about President Obama’s deficits and now they have put forward a trillion-dollar deficit.” — Sen. Rand Paul Members of both political parties criticized U.S. [...]
On Wednesday, Apple said it would spend approximately $350 billion in the U.S. over five years on domestic jobs, manufacturing and data centers. The impetus for Apple’s decision was the Tax Cuts and Jobs [...]
