A list of all of Doc Werlin’s writings pertaining to economics.
Where have all the public companies gone? According to the Center for Research in Security Prices, the number of companies that sell stock to the public on the exchanges has shrunk since 1996 by [...]
Workers in the tightest American labor markets are finally receiving pay packages that are growing faster than inflation. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 1, in cities such as [...]
The U.S. economy is on fire. According to the Atlanta Fed’s model, the gross domestic product is headed for a 4.5 percent annualized growth pace in the fourth quarter. The U.S. economy has enjoyed [...]
In recent months, evidence has increased that the high-yield bond market is under pressure. While this class of bonds rated below investment grade continue to trade near all-time highs, concerns are mounting beyond what’s [...]
Trump’s visit to Asia, he continued his efforts to shake up the world economic order and in the process raised fundamental questions about America’s global role. Trump voiced his belief that America should act [...]
President Trump’s nominee to be Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, is expected to continue the Fed’s restrained approach to reversing the central bank’s crisis-era stimulus policies. This would mean gradually raising short-term interest rates [...]
Canada, Mexico and the United States are involved in contentious negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Trump administration has offered a series of hard-line proposals that the U.S. Chamber of [...]
Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve officially announced it will begin reducing its balance sheet. The $50 billion-per-month decrease would cut its holdings below $3 trillion by 2020. But even that figure is almost four [...]
The twenty-first century promises breakthrough opportunities for American women, who have led the recovery of our workforce participation rate.Women, especially those in their late 20s and early 30s, have been responsible for 40 percent of [...]
William Cohan, one of America’s most respected financial journalists, has written an excellent, well-balanced book about Wall Street. Cohan argues that, despite the flagrant misbehavior by some Wall Street firms that led to the [...]
Federal Income Receipts $3.66 Trillion Social Security, Medicare Taxes 29% $1.070 Trillion Personal Income Taxes 42% $1.549 Trillion Corporate Income Taxes 9% $332 Billion Excise, Estate, Gift Taxes 8% $295 Billion Borrowing to Cover [...]
The weaker dollar is helping corporate earnings, which is good for U.S. investors. Multinationals’ earnings will rise because they have substantial overseas sales, which are paid for in foreign currencies. Converting these foreign currencies [...]
Exchange traded funds have grown to hold more than $4.1 trillion for the first time, according to HFR, a publisher of information on ETFs and hedge funds. These financial products strive to match the [...]
On Wednesday, Volvo became the first mainstream automaker to say that all models it introduces in 2019 will be either electric-gas hybrids or powered solely by batteries. It is a bold move to lead [...]
In response to major progress on their balance sheets, the Federal Reserve has given the nation’s big banks a green light to take capital risks that appear to dull the teeth of the Dodd-Frank [...]
President Trump wants to make the U.S. coal industry “great again.” The president has repeatedly said, “We are going to get those coal miners back to work.” He derides the Obama administration’s “job-killing Environmental [...]
‘Give me a one-handed economist. All my economists say ‘On one hand, then but on the other .’” — Harry Truman On Friday, the Labor Department reported seemingly good news: Unemployment fell to 4.3 [...]
Amazon last week celebrated its 20th anniversary of going public. Today, according to several reports, half of U.S. households subscribe to the company’s Prime service offering free shipping and other perks for $99 a [...]
Over the past few months, the investment community has begun focusing on the steps the Federal Reserve might take to reduce its current balance sheet, which now amounts to some $4.3 trillion. Because the [...]
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates Wednesday by 25 basis points, to 1 percent, and the U.S. central bank has indicated it plans to raise rates aggressively. Most economists expect the [...]
Last week, the Standard & Poor’s stock index increased to a record high market capitalization above $20 trillion. This compares with $5.9 trillion when the market hit a low on March 9, 2009. It [...]
During his campaign, Donald Trump said his policies would grow the economy by 4 percent per year and increase employment by 25 million over the next decade. While these are laudable goals, they also [...]
“Pursuing protection is just like locking oneself in a dark room. While wind and rain may be kept outside, so are light and air.” — Xi Jinping, Chinese president During his campaign, President Donald [...]
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” —Warren Buffett American consumers are more confident about the economy and their financial future than they have been in years. As 2016 [...]
In the largest bankruptcy of a U.S. state or territory, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello requested court protection for his U.S. commonwealth to resolve a large number of lawsuits from creditors. The Puerto Rico Financial [...]
I feel very fortunate to possess a collection of cartoons from Puck, the humor magazine that ceased publication in 1918. My favorite is a 1901 cartoon by famed illustrator Joseph Keppler depicting industrialist J.P. [...]
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 Friday, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen told global monetary policymakers, “I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months.” She implied that internal forecasts have [...]
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett Warren Buffett, a legendary investor with a pristine [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal had an article, which focused on John Bogle, founder of Vanguard—a money management company that focuses on index funds. The article contained two ideas that I wish to share: Bogle [...]
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig discussed the fortieth anniversary of index mutual funds—the Vanguard 500 Index Fund. The initial public offering, $11.3 million, was a major disappointment to Vanguard’s founder, John C. [...]
Unfunded pension liabilities of cities and states have doubled as their returns have fallen over the past decade and are now approaching $1 trillion. The problem has escalated a national debate about whether these [...]
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it would not only keep its benchmark interest rates unchanged but might only raise rates once over the next two years. The Fed policymakers’ altered rate outlook [...]
On Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Nations ministers failed to agree on a new production ceiling. The cartel that controls over a third of the world’s oil has been pumping all out [...]
The U.S. Labor Department on May 6 reported that our economy added the fewest number of jobs in seven months, 160,000. So far in 2016, employment gains have averaged 192,000 per month. This is [...]
For years I have admired Warren Buffett. Moreover, his eternal optimism is contagious. That is, it is hard to listen to Warren without buying America. Nothing seems to deter his belief that America is [...]
