My last essay for the Herald-Tribune
As I sit down to write my final column for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune after 15 years as a guest columnist, I find myself filled with a mix of emotions. First and foremost, I want [...]
The Next Chapter
As I sit down to write my final article for the Sarasota Herald Tribune after 15 years as a guest columnist, I find myself filled with a mix of emotions. First and foremost, I want [...]
Current status of the U.S. economy
The U.S. economy is entering the second half of 2023 much stronger than anticipated. The American economy is benefitting from broad-based momentum despite rising interest rates. For more than a year, there have been [...]
Growing ties between U.S. and India
On June 22, 2023, President Biden showered Indian Prime Minister Narendi Modi with expansive flattery during a lavish state dinner. He sought to draw India closer at a time when the United States is in [...]
Federal Reserve faces policy challenges
The Federal Reserve currently has two major challenges — fighting inflation and averting a credit crunch. Raghuram Rajan, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, summarized the problem: “They (the Federal Reserve) are between a [...]
The remote work revolution
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted our lives. The entire ecosystem collapsed during the early months of the pandemic as office workers shifted to working from home. The office market has been slow to [...]
In retail industry, theft is growing faster than sales
Shoplifting is an alarmingly common crime. The National Retail Federation estimates that retail shrink, which includes theft but also problems leading to inventory being lost or recorded inaccurately, was roughly $95 billion in 2021. Dean Rosenblum, [...]
US faces unprecedented default on its Treasury debt
On May 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the U.S. may run out of measures to pay its debt obligations by June 1. A potential [...]
With world’s largest population, India will wield economic muscle
On April 19, the United Nations projected that India’s population growth will surpass that of China by the middle of 2023. India’s population, driven by a combination of high fertility rates and improved health care and [...]
Prolonged inflation, banking crisis dims outlook for world economy
On April 11, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that its economic outlook for 2023 has been lowered. IMF Managing Director Kristina Georgieva cautioned that global growth is set for the weakest near-term expansion since 1990. The [...]
US labor market shows signs that it is beginning to soften
On March 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported that there were nearly 9.9 million job openings in February. This is a reduction from January’s downwardly revised 10.6 [...]
The precarious state of the US financial crisis
The role of the Federal Reserve is to create a safer and more stable monetary and financial system. Unfortunately, our central bank faces enormous challenges. We have not broken the back of inflation and the [...]
Two of the largest bank failures in U.S. history change the nation’s financial landscape
The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) — the nation’s 16th largest bank — and Signature Bank have changed the financial landscape. Stephen Solaka, managing partner at Belmont Capital Group, wrote, “Sentiment went very quickly [...]
The debate over raising the debt ceiling
On Jan. 19, the United States hit its “debt ceiling,” which is currently capped at $31.4 trillion. The “debt ceiling” refers to a statutory limit on how much the U.S. can borrow. To prevent a default, [...]
Consumer price increases have moderated
On Feb. 14, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index increased by 6.4% over the past year. This represents the seventh straight month of declines. CPI measures a broad basket of goods and [...]
U.S. job market remains very strong
On Feb. 3, the Labor Department reported surprisingly strong employment numbers. The economy added a robust 517,000 nonfarm jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, a 53-year low. Analysts were surprised. They had expected job [...]
U.S. reaches its borrowing limit
Last week the U.S. reached its borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion. The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. Given that the federal government runs large budget [...]
China’s population decline in 2022 challenges its growth prospects
The National Bureau of Statistics recently reported that China’s population declined in 2022 by approximately one million people to 1.412 billion. This represents the first decline since 1961, the last year of China’s Great Famine. United Nation experts estimate [...]
Negative-yield bonds are almost extinct
The Wall Street Journal in an article “Negative-Yield Bonds Approach Final Days” highlighted that the outstanding amount of negative-yielding debt has almost declined toward zero. According to the Bloomberg index, it now stands at $254 billion, [...]
Defaults loom as poor countries face an economic storm
On Dec. 4, The New York Times in an article “Worsening Debt in Poor Nations Threatens Crisis” highlighted the catastrophic debt crisis of developing nations. The Times pointed out that “rapid inflation, slowing growth, rising interest [...]
How Colleges and Sports-Betting Companies ‘Caesarized’ Campus Life
“I think the reality is that college athletics has become a profit maximizing endeavor for athletics administrators and coaches. And pretty much every else is left kind of holding the bag.” -Jack Kroll, a board [...]
World population reaches 8 billion
On Nov. 15, the United Nations estimated that the global population had reached 8 billion people. Marie-Francesca Spatolisano, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, said at a news conference in July, [...]
Consumer price index rose 8.2% in September
On Oct. 13, the Labor Department released data that showed the consumer price index rose 8.2% in September. Over the past year, the core inflation index, which excludes food and energy, increased 6.6%, the highest level since [...]
U.S. national debt tops $31 trillion
The Treasury Department released data on Oct. 4 that showed America’s national debt exceeded $31 trillion for the first time. Our outstanding debt raises major fiscal concerns because low interest costs to fund the debt are [...]
U.S. dollar remains strong
As the world’s most important currency, the U.S. dollar frequently appreciates during times of turmoil. The dollar has appreciated significantly for several reasons: (1) The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates in order to bring down the [...]
CPI figures indicate inflation will remain a problem for some time
On Sept. 13, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.3% in August over the past 12 months. The core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, increased 6.3% from the previous year. [...]
European Central Bank (ECB) joins the Fed in full-throated offensive against rising prices
On Sept. 8, the European Central Bank (ECB) increased its interest rates by 75 basis points, the largest ever. ECB revised up its inflation expectations to an average of 8.1% in 2022. The bank indicated that they “expect [...]
Employment numbers likely to keep Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates
On Sept. 2, the Labor Department reported that employers added 315,000 jobs in August. For the past two years, we have experienced robust job growth. The U.S. has regained the 22 million jobs that we lost [...]
Social Security has major financial challenges
According to the Social Security Administration, approximately 56 million people depend on Social Security (OASI) for their retirement. For about half of older adults, it provides at least 50% of their income, and for one in [...]
United States recovers jobs lost from the pandemic
The Labor Department reported recently that employers added 528,000 non-farm payroll jobs. The economy has fully recouped the 22 million positions that were lost early in the pandemic. The recovery has been far swifter [...]
Euro declines below the dollar as Europe’s economic fortunes slump
On July 14, the Euro slid below the U.S. dollar for the first time in 20 years. The Euro’s downward spiral has been swift and brutal, given that it was trading around $1.15 in February. As [...]
Supreme Court limits EPA authority to restrict greenhouse gas emissions
On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that the EPA overstepped its authority in restricting greenhouse gas emissions. The Court ruled that Congress, not the EPA, has the [...]
Challenges to globalization amid economic slowdown
Over the past few years, several events have delayed or altered globalization, which is the interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures and populations. In the article, “The Tricky Restructuring of Global Supply Chains” in The Economist, the [...]
Federal Reserve raises rates by 75 basis points over inflation concerns
On June 15, in response to inflation concerns, the Federal Reserve raised overnight rates by 75 basis points. This marks the greatest increase in 28 years. The Fed forecasts raising overnight rates to 3.75% by the end [...]
UN warns of global food shortages and major price spikes
Kristalina Georgieva, the International Monetary Fund managing director, told the World Economic Forum in May that “anxiety about access to food at a reasonable price globally is hitting the roof” as food prices continue to “go [...]
Many special purpose acquisition companies might go bust
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that at least 25 SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) have concerns about their financial future. This represents more than 10% of the SPACs that went public between 2020 and [...]