Shortest ever. Last week, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finally announced the official dates for the recession that occurred in 2020. Economic activity peaked in February 2020 and bottomed in April 2020. That makes the pandemic recession the shortest in American history. According to the NBER, “The recent downturn had different characteristics and […]
The term “peak growth” has become almost as popular as the comedy show Ted Lasso. Peak growth is a catchphrase with the potential to mislead. When the term is applied to the U.S. economy, it does not mean the United States economy has reached the pinnacle of growth and it’s all downhill from here. It […]
There was a gapers’ block in financial markets last week as equity investors slowed to see what the United States Treasury bond market was up to. U.S. Treasury bonds rallied last week. Yields on 10-year Treasuries dropped from 1.43 percent at the start of the week to 1.27 percent on Thursday. The rally was quite […]
Charlemagne is a legend. He was an 8th century Frankish King who fought and won most of Europe before becoming the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He also led the Carolingian Renaissance, a golden age for scholarship and values, during which a new system of writing was established. Music flourished. Libraries and schools […]
Nobody likes paying taxes. It’s a fact that has helped inspire and alter human behavior throughout history. You don’t have to look far to find ways taxes have affected human decision making. For example, taxes are the reason: Brick size was standardized in Great Britain Ironically, to pay for the war in the American colonies […]
April is Financial Literacy Month. It’s also National Canine Fitness, National Fresh Celery, and International Guitar Month (among so many other designations), but let’s not get distracted. So, what is financial literacy? In 2008, the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy defined financial literacy as “the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial […]